click on the pictures to enlarge! NEW ZEALAND MARCH-APRIL 2005

Below are some photos from my moms birthday on April 5th. We went to Aucklands Skytower (328 m), the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere.
It has a restaurant at the top, where we dined. You can also see some photos showing Auckland as viewed from the top.

Mount Maunganui beach and mountain; Tauranga. The ocean is a lot warmer and nicer to swim in than in San Diego. Note the huge fern trees.

Waitangi treaty house: flags are where the treaty between many Maori chiefs and representatives of the British Crown signed the ?1840 Treaty of Waitangi, founding the nation state of New Zealand. This treaty immediately conferred British citizenship to the native Maori peoples, and guaranteed the Maori continued use of their lands, hunting and fishing resources in perpetuity. The British Crown was given exclusive right to purchase said lands and resources if the Maori should wish to relinquish them, at a mutually agreeable price. Note that the British representative in New Zealand answered to someone in Australia, and was paid at half salary because New Zealand was not deemed sufficiently important. His proposed 6 room house was deemed too extravagant, and he was allowed only a small 2 or 3 room house. He remarked that it was hardly sufficient for his responsibilities, and could not be expected to help him gain the respect of the natives, "even in such a place as New Zealand."

Cape Reinga, the northernmost part of the north Island. The movement of the ocean were just amazing as it churned and crashed against the rocks below. Many ships have been lost in this area. The lighthouse is still functioning as a lighthouse. It is powered by electricity from the solar panel on it, stored in a battery. The beam is visible for about 17 nautical miles, somewhat less than the original beam.

90 mile beach. When you see buses full of people diving along the beach at 50+ miles an hour, you think you've seen everything. Every couple of minutes a bus came flying by.