Waitangi and Russell

On the 7th of January we went to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where a controversial treaty was signed in 1840 between the British and the Maori. We had a guided tour of the grounds where we learnt all the history, before going into the Maori meeting house (right) for a cultural performance. This included native songs and dances, including the Haka. 

On the 8th we went across the water to Russell for the day. The hostel in Paihia had 3 people who were doing regular circus performances at the beach. On the way to catch the ferry to Russell we found we were slightly early, (yes it does happen!) so we sat down to watch them for a bit. Just my luck they spotted me and roped me in to a crowd participation bit. It ended up with me throwing flaming torches up to one of them on a massive unicycle! As much fun as this was..., it also meant we completely missed the ferry and had to catch one an hour later! I walked over to Long Beach which was beautiful, but lost track of time and had to run all the way back to jump on the ferry just as it was about to leave! I like to think I'm efficient.