Dec 27: Whangarei Falls to Kawakawa to Waitangi to Kerikeri...and no, I'm not making any of those names up.

Our day in Whangarei (pronounced FAHN-GA-RAY) Falls began with Vanessa, Graham, and Todd plotting to make the local chicken step on Graham and Vanessa.  All it takes are a few strategically placed pieces of croissant.  Mission accomplished.

A great part of this vacation is having no real schedule for most days.  We had all the time in the world to get to our final destination, Kerikeri.  We started with a little walk around Whangarei Falls which was about 10 minutes from our cabin.

 

From there, we headed north to see the famous Hundertwasser Toilets in Kawakawa.  These toilets are a tourist attraction all by themselves.  "Designed by internationally renowned artist, ecologist and architect, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, the toilets are made from the community's recycled old glass bottles and reclaimed bricks. It is the only structure he ever built in the southern hemisphere.".  I've never taken pictures inside a bathroom before, but here I wasn't the only one doing it and it was no problem.

  

  

  

  

  

From Kawakawa, we pressed on to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, which is where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840.  The Treaty of Waitangi is a famous, foundational, and still controversial treaty between the Maori people and the Queen.  The Treaty Grounds are where the treaty was signed and where one of the Queen's emissaries lived.

It's kind of like Constitution Hall in Philadelphia and Mount Vernon in Virginia all rolled into one.  In fact, the view from the back of the house and of the back of the house are remarkably similar to Mount Vernon.  Weird.

The Treaty Grounds include the house, a Maori meeting house - Te Whare Runanga - , which is representative of all Iwi (regional tribes) in New Zealand, and Ngatokimatawhaorua, a war canoe and the longest canoe in the world.  It measures 35 meters long, requires 88 paddlers, and can hold up to 40+ additional passengers.  It was created for the centennial Waitangi Day (February 6th) celebration in 1940. 

  

  

  

  

  

After spending a couple of hours at Waitangi, we headed the final half hour to Kerikeri where we would be spending the next three nights while we explore the tip top of New Zealand.