WAITANGI DAY !

Maori celebrating Waitangi Day Festival

Today was Waitangi Day, a significant day in the history of New Zealand, and one desrving of a public holiday. It celebrates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document, on that date, in 1840.
The weather was hot, hot, HOT!




The Waitangi Treaty - there are 6 copies

The Treaty of Waitangi was signed on 6 February 1840, at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands. It made New Zealand a part of the British Empire, guaranteed Māori rights to their land and gave Māori the rights of British citizens.




The Pou Kapua - the world's tallest Maori/Pacific carving, at the entrance to the event



Detail of Pou Kapua - of a whale, turtle and kangaroo



A pair of kereru higher up the carving



A Maori face mask and squid with lizard section of the carving

We ate icecream in hollowed out pineapples, listened to the concert and browsed the stalls of crafts, before heading to the beach to cool off!

Apparently, in London, (the city with one of the largest New Zealand expatriate populations,) the occasion is celebrated by the Waitangi Day Ball. Did anyone get an invite?



Other traditions in London include Kiwis participating in a pub crawl using the London Underground's Circle Line, with the stated aim, to consume one drink at each of the 27 stops! Now, you MUST have noticed them!!

YACHT RACES !

The finals for the Louis Vuitton Pacific series began today and the sailoffs were tense. Ten teams and nine countries raced against each other, in near perfect conditions, while champagne and nibbles were served on board.







Out on the launch the views were fantastic, the turning of the yachts made them look as if they were going to crash!



The British team were doing well, until their sail got stuck after the turn ( what a noise those sails make) but they look as if they'll still make the finals!





The NZ 'Spirit of Adventure' also watched, not far from us, and everyone on board sounded very excited!



After a full day in the sun, we headed home!

SUNRISE !

Sunrise this morning - I was up early and watched from the balcony..

NARROW NECK BEACH !

We were on a hunt for military haunts today.. we discovered some forts built along the coast, in case of war.



Fort Takapuna was built in 1886 (that's real history here, folks!) It has a well and castellated walls - so it looks the part! It even has guns, taken from a cruiser and installed there.



The beach itself, is as the name suggests - narrow. The tide was in and it seemed that the pohutakawa were only just holding the cliffs up.



Another hot day - but I'm told it's hotter in Australia!

CHINESE NEW YEAR !

Actually the Chinese New Year began on January 26th, but celebrations continue long after that!
This year is the Year of the Ox.
Next year is my year, the Year of the Tiger! RAAAR!
We went to see the dance of the Lion Dragon, to chase away bad luck.



As you all know, the Chinese zodiac is symbolised by 12 animals, and it is believed that a person takes on the characteristics of the animal whose year he or she was born in.


Those people born in the Year of the Ox are supposed to be patient, speak little, they are excellent organisers and inspire confidence in others.
The home of the Ox is his castle, and he also enjoys spending much time in planting garden and trees. (sound like anyone you know?)



Ox people are able, ethical and aware, and co-workers can depend on their eyes for details. They work best when alone, and are mentally and physically alert.

Easy going, they can also be stubborn and hate to fail or be opposed. They are most compatible with Snake, Rooster and Rat people.



Famous Ox people include Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana, Catherine Freeman, Jane Fonda and George Clooney.

MOUNT VICTORIA !

Another hot day, so to find some breeze we climbed Mount Victoria, which is the highest volcano on Auckland's North Shore, it erupted some 20,000 years ago, and its lava flows line much of Devonport's waterfront. It's opposite Mount Albert of course!



The volcano is named after our Queen Victoria, and the hill provides panoramic views of Auckland's Harbour. The views included the start of the NZ yacht races going on at the moment.



Where is it? Well,Mount Victoria is a 10 minute walk from the Devonport ferry terminal. Look at our Historic Walk in Devenport this month for other views along the way!



You can have a bird's eye view of the area including the spread of beaches and sea from both sides once you get to the top... but the strangest thing was seeing lots of red and white dotted toadstools on the top!







There was a 'disppearing gun' at the top as well, which was only fired once. It cracked the glass in some houses because it was so loud, the residents complained, and the gun was dismantled!

COOKING !

The girls love cooking, there were ooohs and aaahs of excitement on Christmas when they opened a variety of kitchen gadgets!
There were egg timers which changed colour in the pan to indicate how the egg was cooking, spatulas in the shape of people, cotton candy and cookie makers, mini graters and measuring spoons in lurid colours.
Then there were the cookbooks - Jo Seager, Gordon Ramsay, Jaimie Oliver..beautifully illustrated, so many to choose from. We recently took, 'Never Trust A Skinny Cook' out from the library, and it made us laugh!
Replacing cartoons are 'Hell's Kitchen' and 'Iron Chef' (for another laugh) even Nigella has joined the viewing list ** don't get me wrong they still follow 'New Zealand Idol' fanatically!
And then there's the food that comes out of the kitchen regularly - mouth-watering recipes, and they never seem to go wrong! The confidence of children!
We have the full range of vegetarian dishes, with several hundred different uses for pumpkin, courtesy of Jess.
And for the omnivores we have Sophia's dishes, souffles and spicy recipes.
The photos below don't really do justice to the dinners - but you can blame the photographer!


Filoettes, rapberry & cream cakes, asparagus rolls and olive tapanades


Jess creating cheese twists

Strawberry shortcake supreme


Banana souffle - yum!


Pesto pinwheels


Rasperry triple layer birthday cake


Homemade meringues nests with blueberries and double cream


Gingerbread men in the making


Bread and butter pudding with blueberries


Dark, rich fruit cake with almonds


Fruity mince pies


Moist chocolate sponge smothered in Smarties


Gingerbread tree biscuits


Dark chocolate Brownie cakes


Jessica's tomato & basil tarts


Sophia's pizza bites


Sophia's Persian lamb stuffed pita breads with minted yoghurt sauce

Pavlova with red berry cream and cherries


Sophia serving the pavlova


Meatballs in sour cream and dill sauce


Gorgeous pineapple cheesecake


Foccaccino bread with rosemary & sea salt


Bread for starters


And what have they benefitted from being in the kitchen and cooking? Wll, they've had fun, first and foremost. They have learned so much, economics, maths, health, creativity etc.. I'm talking to the converted, I know. It's so lovely to see them make something from scratch, and they appreciate it so much more.
In today's world of McPersons all wanting blandness and sameness, relying on predictability, I'm glad that they are demanding something different!


Jessica's pisaladiere, very olivy!




Sophia's white chocolate mousse in dark chocolate sauce


Close up of said pudding


Sophia's Red wine risotto with raddichio and blue cheese sauce