Thursday in Northland

Drove up/800 Year Old Tree/Mosaic Toilets/Treaty Ground/Poi Balls/Tangled 

                 Well I started off for my last trip in New Zealand. How weird is that to think? Northland was my last holiday on holiday in New Zealand! I can’t believe it! It’s crazy, but it was one of the most amazing trips ever! We started out driving, and everyone was a little bit stressed. You see today or tomorrow was the day that we all found out about our internships, so we were all worried! So everywhere we stopped, we would check to see if there was an internet cafe. It's so weird not having the internet when you are so use to having it on your phone! But anyway, we drove up North, and I've decided I love the Northland! It was gorgeous! This is exactly what I pictured New Zealand to look like! Everywhere you look there are beach and gorgeous greenery everywhere! 

                 Anyway, we drove and drove and drove, then James took us on a little detour! ha ha! We were all so confused! No one had any idea where we were going, then we came to this giant tree! We get out and it was a Kauri Tree. It was 800 years old! James was so excited to show us this! He said, "Girls be sure and get a piece of the bark! It falls off, and you can take it! This is one of the trees you can take the bark from!" It was so cute! He was so excited about it! 

 

         As we all got out, we thought this was a little strange, but then James said, "This is one of my favorite things, and since it is I have something to give all of you." Then he got out all of us matching lava lavas! It was so cute! We then all put them on! We looked so good! It was ironic, because Emily and I about ten minutes before were talking and saying how we still needed to find a good lava lava, but James took care of it for us! We can always count on James! 

     After we had taken all of our pictures, James said, "Girls, you know nature can feel your love! All of you need to hug the tree! Hugging the tree will help it grow that much larger and stronger!" So then of course we all hugged the tree! It was so much fun! 

        After we had given the tree our love, we continued to drive on! We got to the motel and dropped our stuff off. This was a great room situation! I stayed in a room with Neeley, we shared a bed again, we are becoming bed buddies, ha ha, then Nicole and Emily were in a room together, then Hannah was in with us too! It was a lot of fun! It was a great room set up! We got all of our stuff dropped off then we went to the store to get food for the rest of the nights so we could cook! Our apartment got stir fry, pasta, chicken, salad, and pancakes! These were going to be our lunches and dinner for the week! Following the store, we head up to the Waitanigi grounds! 

        Waitanigi Grounds, is where the treaty of Waitanigi was signed. This reminded me a lot of Washington D.C. It was really peaceful! The first thing we did when we got there was go and see a waka. It's a waka that they take out on the ocean on Waitianigi Day, but that's the only day. It was huge! I have never seen a waka so big! The carved details were incredible! I still am in amazement at what they can carve out of wood. It truly is incredible.   

 

     After this we took a little walk up to the grounds where the treaty was signed. It was gorgeous! It was a very peaceful feeling there. Emily, Nicole and I just sat and enjoyed the view and imagined the treaty being signed. It really was such a pretty peaceful spot! No wonder New Zealand is such a peaceful place, it all started at a place of peace!

 

       You have to admit, that is absolutely gorgeous! It's incredible how blue the water is, and how green the grass is. Everywhere over here creates the perfect picture without even trying. After we had enjoyed the treaty grounds, James took us back to the motel, and we were able to make our own poi balls! This was a lot of fun! They were actually kind of easy to make! I will be able to teach you all how to make them when I come back! 

       After Poi Balls, my apartment got Jame's lap top and took it to our room and watched Tangled! It was a great day! We were excited for all of the things we were going to do!