Bay of Islands

What has to be one of the premier tourist spots in all of New Zealand is the Bay of Islands,  In the north east corner of the north island is an archapeligo of 142 islands.  This is referred to as a Ria Coast essentially referring to a submerged land with only the higher points visible above the water line. The islands and jagged coast line provide bounteous sheltered bays, harbours, peninsulas and islets.

In addition to being an ideal boating and tourist venue, it is also well known for its fishing and marine habitat for whales, porpoises, seals and other marine life.  We took full advantage of this visually stunning area to tour the  islands, take pictures and overall have a wonderful day.

These islands were settled early by the Maori given the plentiful food supply and today the largest tribe is found here. Some of New Zealand's most famous Maori chieftains originated here.

As expected this represented an ideal landing spot for early explorers. Captain Cook and a series of early adventurers made their first encounters with the Maori's here not without a number of fractious exchanges.  It makes for some interesting reading. As Eurpoean settlers were drawn to the location at the end of the 18th century, so too were the less savory sojourners in the form of whalers and later peaceable missionaries. This in turn generated further cause for conflict eventually leading to the need for some political resolution between the contending parties.
 
We ventured out amidst the islands on an overcast day, yet pleasant enough.  In fact the clouds allowed us to avoid the sharp contrasts the sun imposes on our picture taking efforts. We saw whales, stopped and hiked on one of the islands and enjoyed the on board commentary of the historic significance of various spots along the way.

As our boat approached the furthest reaches of our trip, there was some excited anticipation of what we were told would be the highlight of the
journey.  Piercey Island is a much revered  ceremonial location of the Maori.  It is referred to as hole in the rock and tour boat operators regularly take passage through this breach in the island. At first sight it did not look like our boat would fit, but as we approached, the true proportions of the rock channel made us believers.

The choppy seas settled under the protective cover of the rock walls and we made safe passage through with not a lot of room to spare.  Arendje's smile I thought captured the magic of the moment.

We never saw our promised porpoises so they gave us another pair of tickets to come again another day.   I don't know if we will have the opportunity, but I would certainly welcome another trip.  We had a relatively small group on our boat as we took it during the winter months to avoid the summer throngs.




The rest of the day was spent visiting some of the historic towns, taking
 tours of the Treaty Grounds which I will cover in another blog post.

Russel is one such town which has a colourful past, it being a stopping point for the early whalers.  Long weeks and even months at sea left them ready for some revelry and raucous behaviour when landfall was finally made. Local settlers bemoaned their arrival as there presence had an unsettling effect on everyone nearby.

Early New Zealand  immigrants had to be a hardy lot as limited supplies and vast distances made the
likelihood of enjoying the former
amenities of their homelands, costly
to ship, requiring long waits
between resupply.

Relationships between settlers and Maori slowly warmed,  settlements expanded and many of the Maoiri settlements begun here expanded south.  Okiato was the nation's first capital.  Another important location was Waitangi where the Treaty of of Waitangi would later be signed.  Kerikeri as the staging point for the inland Maori to go to sea and the site of the first mission station in the
country.

Tahiti

 Tahiti consists of two islands; Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti two currently inactive volcanic fields. They are linked by a narrow isthmus. The larger island has a road that circumnavigates the island which we explored with a senior missionary couple  on our second day on the island.  We then took the isthmus to cover just a small part of the second island and made our way to the top of a look out to view the larger island from the elevated position.

Polynesians arrived on the islands during the first millenia AD built habitations mostly in the interior. Like many of the islands,  conflicts erupted frequently among various tribes  so allegiances and complex alliances with neighbouring family tribes were arranged to gain greater control and maintain a foothold on their land.

Robert Louis Stevenson dubbed this an island paradise with the nicest people in the world.  To this day they are characterized by their friendly laid back nature. There are strong connections with christian religions .  Every 4 or 5 kilometers along the perimeter highway is an LDS chapel.  Ten percent of the islanders are members with 23 chapels on the main island of Tahiti.

The main industry is of course, tourism, with fishing, shrimp farms, pearl farming and sugar cane farms.   The French government provides most of the infrastructural support, although they are attempting to reduce their influence financially, and politically. Like many of the islands the economy is subject to the ebb and flow of the tourism dollars.

The population is predominantly Polynesian with a notable south east Asian population.  French professionals and political personnel make up the rest.  Most of the better jobs go to the French and Asian residents.  The Asians are intermarrying thus changing the cultural dynamic and composition.

The climate as expected is hot and humid. The week we were there the temperature hovered

around the low 90's with only one day of rain.   I think we were entering the dry season, although everywhere the lush vegetation gave ample evidence of abundant rain.

We were there to train and support the missionaries.  Most of them speak French with some able to speak Tahitian.  My French was not sufficiently good to do my presentations without an interpreter. For two mornings I conducted training with approximately 120 missionaries on stress management and in the afternoon met with missionaries who requested additional

 support.
That amounted to 25 missionaries over a two day period.  A number of them only spoke French so I had to really pay attention to understand them. With sign language and their patient forbearance we were able to make ourselves understood.

We stayed in a hotel the first two days and then at the Mission Home. The Mission President and his wife were originally from France, but had moved to California.  The mission was doing well, in terms of baptisms as the Tahitians are quite receptive and work closely with members.

We quite enjoyed our short stay on the island recognizing there are some unique challenges for those who live there.  Tahitians more than most other islanders stay on the island, rarely venturing to larger centers for education or better job opportunities.
In many ways their life style has appeal, but the economics makes fore some challenging times for the families.

The Bize's saw us off at the airport. A wonderful couple serving and leading a great group of missionaries!
 These arrived the day before.