The Northern Antidote

So the idea of poking up to the subtropical Northlands to combat the wet weather was a fine, fine idea. The Southlands (these Kiwi, they didn't get too crazy when they were naming regions...) where I would have gone if I had stayed on the South Island, are apparently flooding like whoa, after five straight days of torrential rain. I, on the other hand, have spent the past week with sunny and somewhat cloudy weather, cruising the skinny jut of the Northern Island above Auckland. I first rode up the Eastern side of things, that being the non-touristy. I'm not sure if it's less scenic or just incrementally farther from Auckland, but it's not as vacation-developed, being instead rolling hills devoted to cows and sheep. I shot straight up to Cape Reinga, where the Tasman Sea meets the South Pacific (When I say shot, what I mean is rode over the course of four days) and spent a rest day at a preposterously scenic campsite run by the Department of Conservation on a beach up there. For the rest of my time, until I go back to Auckland on Sunday to fly out on Monday, that's the plan. I'll ride a shortish ride each day, and then set up my tent at one of the various beachside campsites DoC runs. Oh, except Saturday will be spent snorkeling around looking at tropical fish, and tomorrow morning is set aside for HISTORY.

That deserves a new paragraph. I'll be at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where the Waitangi Treaty (surprise!) was signed. (Quick history time!) The Treaty is now seen as the formative document of New Zealand. It was signed by British administrators and some Maori chiefs to bring them under the aegis of the crown. It kind of didn't mean much at the time, but was never exactly broken, and has since been rehabilitated into a living, legitimate legal document. So that should be great. I'll be honest: New Zealand history is kind of boring. In the 14th C, some Polynesians arrived via canoe. After a few centuries, the British (and French, but really mostly the Brits) arrived. There was no genocide, they mostly swindled/strongarmed the Maori out of their land, while their diseases killed a good chunk of them off. The country became independent, but not until 16 years after they could have, because they were proud British subjects. That's really about all that happened, outside of a strong rugby tradition and some proud service in wars overseas. So this is the one big site of historical meaning I'm pumped about. Other than that, beaches and trying to un-ridiculous my tan lines. (I have glove tan lines, people. It's pretty silly.)