We reached the Bay of Islands at last. This is a beautiful spot with lovely beaches and Islands dotted around. It is also the site of the Waitangi Treaty grounds where the treaty was signed between the Maoris and the British government was signed in 1840. Unlike other British colonies this was entered into without violence or the threat of it. Just like Australia, the Dutch found New Zealand first but never landed. Captain James Cook found it later and claimed for Britain. We went to a Maori ceremony on the site and were struck by the similarities to Hawaii. The Maoris originally came from Polynesia and their language was only first written by a Cambridge professor in the 19th century. It only has 17 letters in the language.