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Today, I said farewell to my friends and struck out on my own, heading north into Northland.
My first stop, after about 150km, was Whangerie Falls, a very popular and beautiful waterfall.
Next I went to Kawiti Glow Worm Caves. The site has been owned by the same family for many generations. I was lucky enough to be given a personal tour of the cave by the granddaughterrof the man who found the cave. The glow worms are beautiful little creatures who live in clusters on the roof of the caves. It is just their tails that glow, to lure prey into the beautiful stands of web that are hanging down. They live like this for 11 months before turning into flies when they have just 3 days to find a mate.
The caves themselves are well worth a visit too, with great formations of stalactites, columns and ribbons. The tour is followed by a brief 10 min bush walk through a forest with lovely rock formations.
Later in this trip I shall be going to the more famous Waitomo caves, and time will tell how these compare. But I can guarantee it won't be as personal a tour and they will do well to be so spectacular.
Next was a trip to the toilet! The designer Frederick Hundertwasser was commissioned to design the public toilets in Kawakawa. The result is a stunning toilet block consisting of colourful tiles and glass bottles set in the wall. I also popped into a bakery for a yummy steak and cheese pie. I was then tempted by an amazing looking loaf of bread with tonnes of melted cheese on top. Should make for good toast in the morning!
Then it was time to make for Paihia. The view of the Bay of Islands as we dropped into the town were amazing. I made for the Waitingi Treaty Grounds. This is where the first treaty between the Maoris and Britain was signed on 6th February 1840, the anniversary of which is a public holiday.
Here I was treated to a 30 min cultural performance before an hour long tour which was extremely informative.
The performance took place in a Maori meeting house built to commemorate the treaty. Unusually, it is not built facing East, where their ancestors hail from, but facing the governer's house, so as to ensure discussions continue between the two communities.
Meeting houses are full of symbolism. Usually to do work the tribe the house belongs to. The one here was built to represent all Maoris in New Zealand.
Above the entrance is a carving of an ancestor, in this case a man with an oar to represent the first group that arrived across the seas. Below, the carving of a head actually represents a head. Them Tyne arms jut out either side with hands on the ends. Finally, the vertical sides represent the legs, meaning the whole represents a Maori crouching in the traditional style.
Inside the house the symbolism continues as each pair of carved wall supports represents a tribe.
Also on site is a ceremonial war canoe. This used to be sited at the top of the hill, but when the Queen visited she expressed an interest in being taken for a paddle. This was no easy undertaking. The hull was carved out from a huge kauri tree and weighs several tonnes. The rest of the canoe was dismantled into 90+ bits and the whole thing taken to the beach and resembled. It's all held together with nylon rope, the only modem material used. After the paddle, when the canoe weighs twice as much due to absorbing water, they took one look at the hill and decided to leave it by the beach. Ever since, the cable gets am outing on Waitingi Day.
On Waitingi Day, massive celebrations are held on site and the local pulsation doubles.
After checking into my motel, I walked to the Haruru Falls, which were just round the corner.
Finally, I popped back into Paihia for tea at the 35° South Cafe, which is lapped hy the sea. I had a delicious venison burger and, more importantly, free wifi for an hour!
The drive up here was amazing as it seemed I was greeted by another fantastic view after rounding a bend or cresting a hill. I'm in danger of already running out of superlatives.
I also lost count of the number of logging trucks encountered on route. Obviously big business round here.
Distance covered today: 257km.
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