We had to pack up all our stuff, throw it in the car and drive just 5km down the hill and through the town to Waitangi, where on the 6th of February 1840 the contract (of Waitangi) was signed that handed over the lands of New Zealand from the Maori to the British Crown. Presumably the the chiefs of the different Maori tribes did not fully comprehend what was happening and, not surprisingly they were very upset they were quite upset when it all came clear to them.
Unfortunately the tour of grounds was quite expensive and would have taken a lot of time which we couldn't fit into our tight schedule.
We did however have a look at a large Maori gate on a field on the way between Waitangi and Paihia.
Then we stopped at the harbour in Paihia to take a small wooden passenger ferry across the Bay of Islands to Russell, the former (and first) capital of NZ - presumably just pronounced after the signing of the aforementioned contract.
The ride across the bay was just like a cruise as we enjoyed the sun on the foredeck.
After passing some impressive private yachts we docked at Russell pier and quickly found a nice place to have a coffee.
The old, little town had the great atmosphere of past days, but fortunately the pirates and drunken sailors that were very numerous in those times have decimated too.
After our coffee we went up a hill and could see the bay on the other side of the island, that was also incredibly picturesque.
On our way back to the boat we passed a little shop to pick up an ice cream which was then enjoyed on the ride back to Paihia.
We eve spotted the fins of some dolphins that had gathered around a whale watching boat in the bay.
Now it was time to head south along the coast.
During a short stop on Kawakawa we visited (and used) some Hundertwasser Toilets, that were the last Creation the Artist had done.
More exciting, however was the little train station and cafe and steam engine in the town.
Soon we passed through the town where we had stayed a couple of days before and picked up Moms, that had to spend the last couple of days alone in the lost and found basket of the Motel.
Then it was mainly driving along the major roads south towards and through Auckland.
A couple of kilometres south of the largest City in New Zealand we turned off the motorway and tried to find a place to stay around the lake Waikare near Te Kauwhata, but this area was very rural and there were barely any places to stay.
We stopped at a Farmstay, where we were greeted by two loud and happy dogs, but unfortunately the owner told us he was no longer doing the farmstay, so we had to move on.
The trip around the lake, at least let us witness some amazing colours on the mountains while the sun began to set.
Our next chance was to find a Motel in Huntley, a town that grew around the largest coal plant in NZ (and looked that way).
There was one place in the whole town, the North End Motel, and the sign at reception asked us to take off our work boots when entering the office.
It was a proper working mens town with kilometre long coal trains and trucks passing through.
Our room was nice enough (and slightly smelly), though and we had to hurry to get some food before everything closed.
Most places were take-aways, so we adjusted to local customs and picked up a couple of hamburgers and a chicken curry and enjoyed them in our little room, while listening to the trains roll by.
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