After the trials and tribulations of yesterday with customs, passport control and car hire giving us the run around it was thought that it would be a good day today !! A little bit of shopping was needed, as last night's mad dash around the store before it closed was for the bare essentials , and we required more daily, mundane items. As Paul knew the way he was the duty driver and taxi'd the girls to the shop !! Required goods obtained it was back to the house for a quick brunch before we set off for the afternoon to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where the British Colonial rule was begun with the signing of the "Treaty" with the local indigenous Chiefs !!

Before we started the drive to the grounds we decided to call the car hire company to tell them not to bring the proper car to us as we would be back that way on the 18th and could exchange cars then. Unfortunately, the numbers we were trying were trying either permanently engaged or we got a message telling us the number was not active or we had dialled the wrong one !! As we could not get the office after at least 50 calls we made the decision to go for our visit anyway. Off we went and got straight into more traffic jams, road works and ignorant drivers who would not move forward when the traffic lights changed to green… drivers the same all over the world it seems… Eventually we were on our way and found the right road . It was a trip of about 80 Kms (50 miles to us poms) , partly along a type of motorway, then along a single track winding road where the speed kept changing from corner depending how sharp they were.. A little bit of rain, little bit of sunshine but mainly overcast we got to our destination a little later than planned. About 25 Kms (15 miles) away from the end the petrol low warning light came on.. The gauge suddenly dropped from about a quarter tank to empty !! Not the time to say anything out loud, Paul (driving) carried on. When we were about 5Kms (3 miles away) , Trev (navigating) checked the map and said we should soon be turning right then along a beach to the Centre. As we were now running on fumes it was mentioned that we really needed a fuel stop as the light was on and the gauge was low… The expected gasps of surprise were heard from both Dee & Pat worried that we might run out of fuel all together and be stranded miles from civilization with no hope of recovery…. This stems from a time when their dad ran out of fuel when they were girls, having to wait hours for someone to appear with spare fuel only to be told that the car had a reserve tank……… Fortunately we found a garage and filled up !! Unfortunately this made us a little late for the tour start and we missed the traditional dancing display. We did manage to join up with the rest of the tour and were treated to a wonderful running commentary by the local guide. He was so enthusiastic about the history of the Centre and what it all stood for that his infectious charm and knowledge made everyone listen intently !! It all started about 1833 with the Treaty being signed on 6th Feb 1840 !! But only a few of the "Tribal chiefs" out of about 500 actually signed the treaty !! The idea had been for "British rule" and using the area called the Bay of Islands as the centre for trade for north New Zealand. This did not turn out well and the trade centre was moved to Auckland and the local population lost out !!

Plenty of opportunity for photos was both given and taken. Which was fine except for the fact that some highly ignorant tourists kept standing right in front of the camera and would not move.. one old b***h in particular would stand in our way, take a shot and then stand admiring it for a while before deciding actually it was no good and taking another picture. All the while we were waiting to get a proper photo. There were actually some fantastic shots to be taken and indeed were. Towards the end of the tour Lis noticed that someone had tried to call us on her phone but we did not recognise the number so did not respond. (Mistake on our part) !! We got to the end of the tour, had a look around the obligatory gift shop and were preparing ourselves for the evenings entertainment which consisted of a meal cooked and served in traditional Maori fashion called a Hangi !! At this point Lis checked the phone again and suddenly found that the freephone number for the car hire office was miraculously working again so Paul tried it to speak to the "office" to say that we had a better plan, as we had not heard from them all day and could not contact we assumed that the promised replacement car would not be appearing. WRONG !! The woman in the "office" stated that the car was on route, had left at approx 2:30 that afternoon and would be arriving at our "house" shortly. She would not entertain the notion of calling the driver back to allow us to stay where we were and continue our evening, she was adamant that we had to exchange the vehicle. As it was approx an hours drive each way, the time now being 5:45, meal due to start at 6:00 Paul (with Dee as navigator) volunteered to drive back, exchange cars, and return to collect the others… we set of to the carpark only to realise that we needed to sort out the house keys and who had the entry tickets (which had cost us $105 each) As we met up to organise ourselves we had a little deliberation and it was decided perhaps not to be such a good idea after all and we would stay as a group ! All for one and one for all !! As were leaving through the main entrance Trev & Pat approached one of the Centre staff and explained our predicament to a lovely young lady, who acknowledged we had a serious problem by commenting about certain hire companies, and offered us a full refund of the monies paid. Naturally we accepted gracefully and were pleasantly surprised at her compassion and willingness to help without any argument at all !

So, into the car we piled and headed for "home" ! Lis, still intrigued by the anonymous phone call decided to give it a ring and surprisingly found it to be the driver of our exchange vehicle. He had been trying to contact us to confirm the meeting place. We explained that we were just leaving and would take about an hour to return, to which he replied not to worry as they were still about 30 Kms (20 miles) away… We managed to make really good progress on the way back and achieved the return in a pretty quick time. As we neared "home" Lis called him again and agreed to meet shortly !! We parked up, unpacked, made sure we had removed all of our bits and pieces and Paul & Trev took the car out towards the main road to make it easier for the guy to find us.. Minutes later he came around the corner in our replacement car and astonishingly it was now the correct '8' seater version that had been booked. When we explained to the driver what we had attempted to do and also that we had cancelled our traditional meal he was beside himself with apologies. He said that we should have called the office to get him to deliver the car at the Centre and we could have exchanged there. Or agreed that it would have saved him a lot of wasted time and effort if we had gone back to the office in two days time…. He was really annoyed at the office but said that it was the policy of the "bosses" that this happened all too frequently. After more apologies from both the driver and his wife (who had accompanied him on the trip), a lovely lady who also was annoyed at the way we had been treated, cars and paperwork exchanged they set off back to Auckland - a journey of about 2 ½ hours for them… Paul & Trev jumped into the "new limo" and drove back to the "house" !!! Much happier now that we had the booked car with more space for passengers leg room, easier access for all and extra seats to allow us to get the luggage in properly !!

Once we had all had a look over the "new car" and come to a majority agreement that this was much better the next order of business was "FOOD" !! In Paul & Trev's absence it had been decided to go to a restaurant called the "Killer Prawn" !!!!! Dee took great pains to explain to Paul (who doesn't do things that swim) that there were other choices on the menu ????? Being out voted by a majority of 5 - 1 there was obviously no point in arguing so off we went !! After a small detour around the town centre we found the "Fishy café" , parked up and wandered in !! It was with great joy that we found they sold Guinness, did rather large glasses of Bailey's, a very nice white wine, a glass of beer and last but not least had ginger beer on tap !! Table sorted, menus passed round and perused it was indeed found that there was lots of lovely food to be had besides fish (prawns) !! The meals arrived and were fabulous, everyone being very pleased with their choice, and devouring the food with great relish !! Another round of drinks, main meals consumed, it was now time for the best part of any meal, the desserts !!!! The "puddings" were magnificent and disappeared without any problems at all !! Really pleasant staff here also had given a fantastic end to a period of our holiday that had seemed to be doomed !! We had a very pleasant tour, a welcome surprise in the manner of our refund and the friendliness of the "Centre" staff, the arrival of the proper car, a superb meal in a wonderful setting with again very friendly staff and all enjoying each other's company (friends and companions all) !! A Stupendous end to our day !!!!

Tomorrow's trip has had to be cancelled as it was meant to be a boat trip to allow us a chance to snorkel and whale/dolphin watch but with the advent of inclement weather on the horizon (rain, wind and a swell of 3 mtrs expected) the tour company have had no choice but to call it off !! Another plan is being hatched though so watch this space !!!!!