Saturday March 5 – We entered the bay with it’s about 150 islands early this sunny warm day to be greeted by a chocolate of dolphins swimming by the ship at dawn. The Bay of Islands is considered the place where New Zealand began with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (“Te Tiriti o Waitangi” in Maori) on February 6, 1840 – Exactly 176 years ago – between the 43 Maori chiefs (being the principal one Hone Heke Pokai) of North Island and James Busby – a representative of the British Monarch Queen Victoria (1837-1901). In this treaty The Maori agreed to be subjugated to the British Crown as long as the UK protected the island and it’s people. There is a Waitangi Treaty House (Busby’s home at the time) where it was signed (actually a marked just outside), and today houses the treaty located a couple of hundred meters / yards from where the tenders left us off as the ship was at anchor.
Bay of islands is located 150 miles North of Auckland, on the North Island which is home to 3/4 of the population of New Zealand (4.5 Million). Polynesians from the Central Pacific were the initial settlers prior to 1000AD and the Maoiri reached a population of 200,000 prior to the arrival of the Europeans. First, the Dutchman Abel Tasman tried to land on South Island but was given a rough time by the Maori. It was he who called it Nieuw Zeeland (after his birth province in Holland – Zeeland). Captain Cook in 1769 was the first to land in The Bay of Islands in 1769. After his second visit to the area it became part of and was administered as part of New South Wales in Australia. Russell (Kororareka in Maori), a short ferry ride in the Bay, from where we were at anchor, was the first European settlers in 1820. It was James Busby, who after seven years of gaining the confidence of the local Maori, that he was able to get to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and it became a British protectorate and part of the Commonwealth.
Our day consisted of rowing a Maori War Canoe from the sea bay up the Waitangi river to the waterfalls under the direction of a Maori chief. As we got of the tender, we were ushered over to a grassy area some 100 yards from where we docked. We were advised and did put most of of our possessions (backpacks, watches, walking shoes, watches, phones etc.) in a sealed container by the beach. The Chief then offered a prayer in the native Maori language to the deities of the sky and water for a safe journey. We then were lined up in four lines, one behind another arter being kitted up with life jacket and paddle. The paddle was short (relative to those commonly used in Canada), black with a white tip and Plano-convex (like the wing of an aeroplane. We were then given (in Maori and English) instruction as to how to paddle the Maori canoes, However the specific instruction as to what to do when was in Maori, so that had to be learned. After the Chief (who was attired in a loin-cloth and nothing else) was satisfied that we, his pupils were trained, we proceeded to walk in single file across the long bridge spanning the delta of the river, to the two war canoes that were to be where we were to spend the next three hours. We all had to walk in the shallow water before stepping into the canoe – a double hulled one strapped together with each hull some 5 feet apart and holding some 20 people. According to the tradition, stepping in the water was not an option, but a requirement! We soon got into a good rowing rhythm to the extent that the other boat that had the rest of the group, soon fell back to such an extent that we hat to stop and wait for some 155 minutes for them to catch up. During this time the chief was giving us an amazing education of their tribe – the largest in the North of the North island and numbering some 100,000. It was fascinating to be out on the river, paddling and hearing stories that the ancestors passed down through the oral traditions. It was not until relatively recently that the Maori Language was written in alphabetic form. (Logo graphs / picture communication techniques were previously used). The amazing species of birds we saw was stunning. Eventually we found our way to a horseshoe / semicircular waterfall (a miniature version of Niagra Falls) that was truly spectacular. We stopped in the mist of the falls to take the mandatory pictures. We were taught a minor “Haka” (war dance – where the Warriors wold make scary faces and adopt scary poses in the hopes that the enemy would run away and avoid battle) maritime move, which after practicing on the people in the other canoe, we gave to the onlookers by the waterfall that had taken the footpath through the woods, much to their surprise and amusement! Many who have seen the New Zealand Rugby team (The All Blacks) will have seen a Haka before each game to summon up courage for the “war” (Rugby game) and to scare their opponents. It is part of the Maori tradition. After the amazing pause to view the falls, we headed back to the base and had a fun photo taken of the four of us with the Chief making scary faces which will be posted on the Blog, but I gather Tachy (who flew back to Auckland yesterday) has posted it to Facebook. By the way, if you want to check out the adventure, go to the website of the tour company – http://www.taiamaitours.co.nz – and look for pictures under the section “Queen Mary 2 March 6, 2016”. It was another fascinating and memorable experience.
We then took the shuttle bus from Waitangi to the main town of the Bay of Islands called Pahia (population 3,000) for lunch – scrumptious lamb sandwiches with coleslaw and potato salad. We wandered around the town doing some “retail therapy”, and finding that prices were extremely high on most things. However, it was fun to see all the items. We did get a couple of aguacates (avocados) from the supermarket as well as New Zealand wine to take onto the ship for consumption. Small avocados were US$3.50 each, but will be enjoyed on board. One of the wine bottles did not last the day as we needed to sample the local grape juice as soon as we returned to our cabins!!! After dinner, the show was Dean Atkinson, ventriloquist and comedian. He won the Judges Choice Award for the whole season on “Australia’s got talent” and was very amusing with his dog and old man puppets and even two passengers who he used as dummies.
Another truly amazing day and an experience never to be forgotten.
Roger & Anne Travels 