Waitangi Treaty Grounds

We catch the ferry back to Paihia and decide to go to the Treaty Grounds. They say this is the most important thing in all of New Zealand history. 

Here we are at the entrance. We are joining a tour to learn more about it. 

The treaty was signed between the British and the Māori.  Almost from the beginning the Māori were not treated as equals and their land taken over by the British. 

The long boats. 

The Māori are a proud people. We also visited the museum that is dedicated to remembering all those that fought all over the world and the many that never returned.  They say it’s the price of citizenship.

We then walked back to town which was about 45 minutes.  Another great day!

Off to Auckland

Sad to leave Fiji but it’s off to Auckland.

We are staying in an area called Parnel at the Auckland Rose Park Hotel.  Older but comfortable.

Auckland harbour.

Sky tower

We catch the ferry to Waiheke Island for the day.



Great way to see the island.  Lots of wineries.

Beautiful beaches.

The grapes are ripe so they cover them with netting to keep the birds from eating them.

We head up to this brewery for some lunch.

A cold one on a hot day.

Beautiful views from Batch Winery on the top of the island.

And back to Auckland to get ready to head to Pahia tomorrow.

Local customs

After leaving First Landing Resort we visit a market to purchase Cava.  John wants to share a Cava ritual with us. 

This is cava in its natural state.  This cost $20 FJD and John will crush it to a powder which will be mixed with water.

We enter John’s village.  This land has been in his family for generations.

John puts some of the crushed cava plant into a cloth bag and then soaks it with water.

Ready to go!

I’m ready to try it!  Everyone says “Bula” then claps three times as you drink your cava.  It has a relaxing effect.  It’s very popular.  It’s classified as a herbal supplement.  Even the older children had some.

It was a lot of fun.  Families all live close to one another in this village which goes back several generations.  So much love, respect and support between everyone.

As we get ready to leave the older boys automatically went to help Marlene tie her shoes.  They seemed so honoured to do this.

The children took us on a tour of their village.  We were treated like celebrities.

Houses are modest.  Clean and well kept.

Beautiful flowers.

A day of touring

Today our driver is John.  We were going to go to a village about 3 hours away where all the houses have thatched roofs but unfortunately part of the road was washed out in the past rains so we had to change plans. We head to the village of Viseisei where the first people landed in Fiji. Viseisei means scattered and is the oldest settlement in Fiji.

This is the church. The first Fijians practiced cannibalism.  They ate their enemies and drank their blood. They believed this gave them more power. It wasn’t until they were converted to Christianity in the 1800’s that they stopped the practice. 

This is the chief’s house



Had to cover our knees!





This is the drum they use to send messages out to the people. They still practice this today. 

Here are the locals cleaning up after a wind storm. Note the fellow with the large machete. 

We stop at First Landing Resort.



Such a beautiful place. 

We stop at a roadside food place that locals go to.  These men are working on the roads.  They were so funny and friendly.  All the people we met were amazing.

We then go to our driver’s daughter’s school.  The principal makes an announcement to the school that we are visiting and the children are so curious.

This is an elementary school of approximately 1300 children.  They all wear uniforms and are quite well behaved.  The school is strict by our standards.

This is a classroom where this older man is the teacher.  He has 49 students in his class.  He still uses a blackboard but hopes to get a whiteboard soon.  He says that a teacher is paid $20,000 FJD per year.