Our first time at campsite for more than one night. We decided to take things fairly easy today as we are all tired but it somehow does not feel like we did. We got up around 7:30 and had breakfast and showers. I have no idea how it takes David so long, I guess he must be very dirty or something. By the time we had faffed around failing to wash clothes (all washers in use with three loads waiting) etc it was 10am ish.

We headed off to Waitangi treaty house as we felt this was an important thing to do as it was the place New Zealand as a single nation began. As a starting point it gave us our first experience of a single lane bridge in a very large van, we have since had many more and on major roads ! I certainly had not twigged before that it was such a new nation, 1840. The grounds and house cost us $20 each to get in and we also paid extra to see the Showtime Haka Maka. Despite a rocky start to the show Alex did thaw and enjoyed it more after the event than actually during it. I think mainly due to the noise levels. Her comment on the entire experience was the Haka was a little rude because they stuck their tongues out. She spent a large part of the afternoon then slapping her elbow and haarrgging. I got pulled out to have a go with the poi, much more difficult than it looks ! We heard several songs from the local area and the tale of Kuri (?) and landing in Aeotura, I think I have spelt these wrong. Overall, I think it was a good introduction to it all. Elizabeth spent the entire 30 minutes transfixed by the performance, clapping at all the right points.

The story of New Zealand is fascinating to hear and the vision of those at the beginning. Busby seemed to be given so little in the way of resources to help him to achieve anything.

We initially walked to the war canoe which was built for the centenary of new Zealand in 1940. It is made from 3 Kauri trees; one for the bow and stern, one for the main section and another to build the sides up above the waterline. It is really impressive in terms of scale. It is still possible to see the rails used to pull it up from the bay to its current position.

There is a walk up from the bay to the treaty grounds which mirrors the walk taken by those in 1840. We followed this whilst experiencing Alex in I am grumpy and close to a tantrum mode.

From the treaty grounds there is a fabulous view over the Bay of Islands. A huge flagpole dominates the grassed area. To one corner is a Maori hut with no name as it belongs to all tribes, and inside each one is represented by carvings. There are similarities between the carvings but it is possible to see there are distinct styles and techniques used.

In another corner is the treaty house which is surprisingly modest and the original property was incredibly small. I do wonder what background Busby and his wife came from. It must have been quite the journey into the unknown for them, If they came from wealthy stock then the lack of space would have been challenging.

David and I managed to get into the treaty house one at a time as the babies were losing the will and in fact Elizabeth had gone to sleep but not before managing to get herself stung in the foot. As I was waiting outside for David I was surprised to be asked for the second time if the girls were twins. I suspect that it's the curly hair that does it !

By the time we had finished here it was nearly 1pm so we drove to Paihia for lunch. Parking was a short walk from the front so we decided to have lunch 'out and about' as Alex would say. We had lunch at Vinnies takeaway and we discovered it was Anniversary day so 15% was added to our bill.

After lunch we had a wander to the ferry terminal and booked a Dolphin and Bay of Islands tour. We were charged for 2 adults as the girls go free as under 5s. We are being picked up at Russell at 1:20ish tomorrow. We then walked along to the beach and the girls had a lovely time playing in the sand.

Alex is needing a lot of wees at the moment and I suspect we may need to keep an eye out for cystitis. We walked back to the van, David got ice cream and I bought Cranberry juice and the girls waited patiently while we did our errands. The ice cream was yummy and eaten as we headed back to the van. While we waited for the girls to eat their ice cream a group pulled up in a van and stopped for a chat. He was originally from London but was now from Canada and had been there a long time. They were all amazed we were travelling with such small children and that we had flown all the way from the UK with them. They mentioned how gorgeous both girls are.

Back to the site and I put the washing in before we all went swimming. I had a chat to a German grandfather who felt New Zealand was too far away from him as it meant he did not see enough of his granddaughter. After swimming I hung the washing out. After dinner I checked on it and most of it was dry by 8 but I had to leave some until the morning.

The girls both went down like a dream - I think they are exhausted and now used to the van.