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The rain was still going the next day when we packed up and left Whangarei. Needless to say we got very wet! On the way to the Bay of Islands we stopped in Waiomio to see the Kwwiti Glow-worm caves. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any photos or video fotage of the caves; apparently it harms the glow worms and the company have also had problems with copywrite on the internet...
We had a 40 minute tour of the caves which were really fascinating. It was obviously very dark and so we carried lamps but when we turned the lights out there were thousands of tiny little green lights covering the top of the caves. We were told that it is the poo from the glow worms that creates a chemical reaction, hence the light. There were also lots of different rock formations and we were given an insight in to the history of the cave and who discovered it and so on.
We arrived in the Bay of Islands later on that afternoon to yet more rain. I was under the impression that it was hot in this country!!! Besides, it's expensive to do indoor activities! The next day the rain wasn't so bad so we decided to go to the Treaty grounds. This is where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 between the Maoris and the Europeans. The first thing we saw was a 35 meter Ngatokimatawhaorua (try and pronounce that!) which was an example of the boat Kupe, the Maori discoverer, arrived in. The boat was very impressive, made from Kauri with lots of wood carvings in it. Next was the Treaty house where James Busby, the British representative lived. The house had been made into a museum and there was a lot of information about the grounds, his life and the signing of the Treaty although it was a bit too much to take in! After we had been in the residential house we went accross to the meeting house, Te Whare Runanga. The meeting house was opened in 1940 during the Treaty Centenary celebrations and it symbolises Maori involvement in the signing of the Treaty. We had to take our shoes off before we entered as a sign of respect. The inside of the meeting house was amazing! The 4 walls of the building were all made up of carvings which all symbolise different Mauri tribes. The only other thing there were two wooden posts which were also carved into different symbols.
Later on that aftrenoon we booked to see a culture show at the Treaty house for later on in the evening. At 7.45pm we were picked up from our campsite and taken back to the Treaty grounds where we were introduced to our guide. We stood outside of the Treaty house, in the rain (yes, it is still going!!) while the guide explained what was going to happen. He said that he needed three cheifs and Neil was the first person he chose! He had to stand at the front of the group with two other blokes while the guy explained that they would be greeted by 3 Maori warriors when we approached the meeting house. The cheifs were then to pick up an offering that the warriors would put down on the ground without losing eye contact with them or stepping back! If they were to look away or step back then the Maoris would take this as a sign of disrespect and start to fight! The rest of us were to stand behind the three cheifs as a re-enforcement. As we turned the corner towards the meeting house we could see Maori warriors chanting and throwing their weapons around. There were also women who were singing. We were told that they were welcoming us. Neil and the other two guys were taken forward slightly, then one at a time they would step futher forward and a warrior would approach them dancing infront of them with a weapon and chanting loudly in Maori. They then put an offering on the ground for the cheif to take, luckily there was no fighting! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any photos!
When we entered the meeting house we had to take our shoes off again. The tribe were still singing as we were shown to our seats. Before the show started, Neil and the other two cheifs had to greet two members of the tribe by touching noses! This is a traditional Maori greeting. When the show began it switched between the present and the past, telling the story of what happened between the European settlers and the natives. There was alot of singing and dancing as the story was told. Some of the singing was more like chanting, especially when they did the Haka. It was really really good and definately worth the $50. When the show had finished we had the opportunity to take some photos and talk with the cast. It was good to know that all of the actors were desendants of the Maoris who were involved in the signin of the Treaty.
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