Waitangi Day 2017

[ST1]

First off I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to all of the people on CiC who gave me suggestions and ideas for routes to travel and things to see whilst in New Zealand. Thank you all we had a brilliant time during our travels within New Zealand. We arrived back in the UK on Monday13th and my sleep pattern is still all over the place.
I thought I would start a thread around the Waitangi Day happenings as I witnessed them, sadly what you cannot get from the images of the Waka's (war canoes) is the sound of the rhythmic chanting and general sense of excitement given off by the audience.

#1 I believe that the larger of the two Waka in this image is Ngatokimatawhaorua, one of the largest Māori waka. It normally resides in it's display area within the Treaty Ground.



#2 The Waka fleet preparing to run around to the Treaty ground to take part in the Waitianga Day celebrations.



#3 Some of the Waka crew who were getting ready for the Waka to be brought ashore, the rails that can be seen are the track that is used to get the Waka from the beach to the shelter.



#4 Impressive Art/Ink work.



#5 One of the vessels we spotted whilst we were en-route to Russell on the slow ferry.



#6 This looked exciting and great weather to try it out. I deliberately left the tow line visible in the image.

[Wavelength]

Excellent; really colorful......really enjoyed them all

[Shadowman]

Nice series, very crisp and colorful images.

[Mike Buckley]

The first two photos display a very special scene very nicely. Great color and compositions!

[bnnrcn]

Lovely set

[Dave A]

Wonderful series.

Dave

[Rainforest]

Wonderful! The boats and the ink are quite amazing.

[pnodrog]

Delighted you had a good time in NZ and decided to go to Waitangi on Waitangi Day. You have done a great job in capturing the festive mood.

[John 2]

Delighted you had a good time in NZ and decided to go to Waitangi on Waitangi Day. You have done a great job in capturing the festive mood.

+1 from me Peter. A great series. Can't quite make out the name of the Top Sail Schooner. Did you catch it by any chance.

[ST1]

+1 from me Peter. A great series. Can't quite make out the name of the Top Sail Schooner. Did you catch it by any chance.

Thanks John, I've had a quick look at my other images and don't seem to have captured the name. However I can see a number on the stern MNZ 100492. A quick G**gle finds it named as "R Tucker Thompson" launched in 1985 so it is a relatively recent build for a schooner. Further details HERE

[ST1]

Thanks everyone for all of your positive comments. We certainly enjoyed the celebration (if that's the correct term) of the treaty signing. The weather and light helped from a photography point of view.

[IzzieK]

Waait! I still have to comment, Peter...I like to say, you really had a good time while there. Very colourful captures. I like NZ as well as Oz, but of course. I still have to try ballooning like that though. That and bungy jumping are two things I wanted to try but if that doesn't kill me, my husband will.

[ST1]

Waait! I still have to comment, Peter...I like to say, you really had a good time while there. Very colourful captures. I like NZ as well as Oz, but of course. I still have to try ballooning like that though. That and bungy jumping are two things I wanted to try but if that doesn't kill me, my husband will.

Thanks Izzie, I think that I do have an image or two of a young lady bungy jumping off the Auckland Bridge. Too scary for me to try though