Waitangi Day...

Waitangi Day (6 February) celebrates the signing of the Treaty Of Waitangi (1840) which is the founding document of New Zealand. It is a public holiday and for most people a peaceful day. However many Maori has spoken out against many treaty injustices and it has come to many protests.

From Wikipedia:

The Treaty made New Zealand a part of the British Empire, guaranteed Māori rights to their land and gave Māori the rights of British subjects. There are significant differences between the Māori and English language versions of the Treaty, and virtually since 1840 this has led to debate over exactly what was agreed to at Waitangi. Māori have generally seen the Treaty as a sacred pact, while for many years Pākehā (the Māori word for New Zealanders of predominantly European ancestry) ignored it. By the early twentieth century, however, some Pākehā were beginning to see the Treaty as their nation's founding document and a symbol of British humanitarianism. Unlike Māori, Pākehā have generally not seen the Treaty as a document with binding power over the country and its inhabitants. In 1877 Chief Justice James Prendergast declared it to be a 'legal nullity', and it still has limited standing in New Zealand law.

Walking up the Mount or Mauao as it is called in Maori is not something relatively unfit flatlanders such as Danes do that easily. However I managed (with the promise to myself that I need to become a hell of a lot more fit!) and eventually Judyanne and I reached to summit.

A couple hundred people had found their way to the top and there was a short welcome followed by a service (religious). After that a few dignateries said a few (some more than few) words and at the end a haka was perfomed. Haka is usually perceived as only a war dance. This is not the case and it can be performed by men, women and children for amusement, as a welcome or for acknowledgement of great achievements. It was my first and I was just blown away by the awesome amount of energy these guys have! And it is quite clear to see how proud they are! Fantastic…

We walked back down Mauao and at the beach there was a waka (a big canoe). After a while the Maori men hopped on board and showed how one is supposed to row. Wow! These guys sure know how to row…

Later that day I looked after the girls as it was Ric and Holly’s night out. The had fun jumping on my bed, falling off my bed and rolling off my bed. We looked af funny clips of funny cats on my laptop and and after dinner Fiona and Lilli suggested we should have a brownie with icecream because they knew exactly where the brownies were. I have to say: Good suggestion! It was a yummy brownie.

When it was time for bed I read them a story from Lilli’s new book I had given her for her birthday. It was H.C. Andersen’s fairytales for children and it only took a couple of stories before they fell asleep.