Country Fairs and War Canoes

Sunday 29 March Warm and sunny 22C drove 50km

After a fairly slow start to the day, we headed back to Kerikeri to the annual 'Country Market' The market had taken over the middle of town entirely and the main road was lined with dozens of stalls. Some of it was the usual market 'tat', but lots were good craft stalls. It looked like the whole town and most of the local area had turned out to support it. The day was very warm and all the cafes in town were packed too. The 'Lions' were carrying out a noisy raffle right in the middle of it all, with lots of good natured banter going on. A most entertaining morning

Later, we headed back toward Paihia, but stopped at Haruru Falls to take a few photographs. According to the tourist literature, it is possible to swim and kayak under the falls. We saw the kayaks but no swimmers and didn't fancy a really cold swim oursleves. It would have been possible to walk from here down to the Waitanga Treaty grounds, but we drove.

On arrival, we stopped at the Waikokopu cafe situated in the treaty grounds and had an excellent lunch of sandwiches whilst we watched large eels swimming in the pond next to the decking of the cafe. The food is really good here and not too expensive.

After lunch we paid to visit the WaitangaTreaty Grounds, the place where the Maori people and British Government signed the treaty in February 1840, that still defines the status of New Zealand. The grounds were rescued by Lord and Lady Bledsoe in the 1930s and many of the original features including the original treaty house, have been preserved. The treaty house, home to the British Residency from the 1830s was well worth the visit. Many of the rooms have been restored as best as possible to the time that James Busby lived here. The adjacent Te Whare Runanga, the Maori meeting house is magnificent and has carvings from all the Maori tribes.

Also in the grounds is a Maori Waka or war canoe. The canoe named, Ngatokimatawharorua, is 35 metres long and it takes 76 paddlers to handle it safely on water. The canoe was made for the 1940 centenial celebrations.

After all the culture, a rest on the beach was required. There was plenty to watch at Ti beach on the northern edge of Paihia. At least one inept jet skier, one hopeless 'Wave Rider' and several small fast sailing boats provided the entertainment.

Back at the Motel, laundry featured in our lives for an hour before heading out for dinner at 'Vince's Fish and Chips'. In UK, I am not a lover of fish and chips. It always seems to consist of lots of greasy batter and little fish. Here, the batter is very light and just coats the fish which is almost always fresh straight from the boats. After a brief stop at the pub for a beer, it was back to the motel.