Paihia

Had a lovely three days relaxing, at least after the first night, in Paihia ( pronounced Pa Hi, our bus driver who was a jobs worth corrected nearly everyone who asked him if he was going there). When booking the campsite we thought it would be a lovely spot for quiet walks and right by the sea. Well not on the first night! What we had failed to know was our arrival day was a National Holiday for Waitangi Day (the day the Maori and British signed the treaty document for peace) this year was the 175 anniversary of that treaty. Oh Boy, this is a little village the rest of the year but with 50,000 people all crammed in around the treaty grounds, we were camped at the Waitangi Campgrounds, it was manic. They were partying right through the night so sleep was a bit lacking. The Maori are the ones that do the celebrating in the main. The roads were closed every bit of grass everywhere was packed with tents and vehicles. They clearly had a good time anyway. It calmed downby Sunday so we spent the afternoon in the village with a couple of ladies entertaining us on the piano impromptu, very kind of them. Their were others but these two were by far the best. We ate a kebab for Sunday dinner, better than it sounds and a hand made fruit ice cream for desert. 

We didn't get into the treaty grounds but we did stroll up one night and see if we could sneak in, unfortunately not. However, the place is full of Maori artefacts especially totem poles (not sure if they are described as such by them).