Friday (Waitangi Day)
Heard on the Good Morning Show, in the morning that there was a celebration thingy at Okahu Bay, East Tamaki Drive which started at 9am so quickly we had shower then shot off to the party.
Apparently this was the second Waitangi Day Festival celebrated here hosted by local tangata whenua (Ngati Whatua Orakei) in partnership with Auckland City Council. And for those who don't know, Okahu Bay was the original site of the arrival of Governor Hobson who was invited by Ngati Whatua chiefs to create the city of Auckland in 1841.
When we arrived there people everywhere.
And classic sailing yacht,
waka and contemporary boats
were there to join in the traditional welcoming ceremony by the hosts - Ngati Whatua o Orakei.
Oh yes, this is a non-related topic. I love summer not only because of the sun and warm weather, big part of it is because of this:
Men and boys in shorts and legs!!!
Anyway back to the topic. Shortly after 9am dignitaries started to arrive
We saw camera men lined up with their tools and thought this must be some VIP.
Big man, big tool...
Even One News was there!!
Ah so there he was, our beloved Auckland City Mayor Mr. John Banks together with Maori Dignitaries.
Suddenly dashing thru the otherside were few Maori 'Warriors' in their traditional grass skirts and some just stubbies performed traditional welcoming ceremony for the 'migrants'.
Man...
in grass skirt... as usual, we couldn't help but kept thinking if he wore something underneath it..
Young warrior too shy to show off his warrior hood
There were a few expressions from John that I thought was quite comical. At that time he probably thought:
Oh God, what did I get myself into now...?
Ah! My Head! My Head!!
Crap! Looks like I just have to be brave and keep my chin up today...
Of course, those were my assumption based on the few photos I took. He is a very good looking man, and husband agreed too.
Bleh~ I'm good at doing the tounge too so I've been told.
Across the road at Okahu Bay Domain, lots of food stalls, clothing and Maori craft stalls were setup to participate in this nationwide celebration.
Traditional Hangi
Maori bread is traditional, not sure about the toffee apples...
A travelling farmyard was there giving opportunities for us who live in concrete jungle a chance to get up close and personal to the mammals.
Hubby patting a calf. Moo~~~
NZD1.00 for a small cup of grass
And off you go feed the baa~~ sheep
Caged animal, caged children...
Picking up animal poo. Wouldn't this be a job to die for?
Temperature kept creeping up as the day went so we decided to get something to cool us down and came across this.
Mmm~ nothing beat icy fresh fruit and ice cream on a scorching hot day!!
So hubby bought a juicy pineapple sundae and I got delicious rockmelon and ice cream.
Check out my husband's delicious melons!!
They look yum and actually tasted yum!!
On our way home we saw this car and really admired it. Yes we are Holden freak.
Only until a bit later we noticed this,
It's like.. This car belongs to the Mayor. Do not tow.
Rich people with political power. Don't mess with them.
Twas a great and enjoyable day. Will update with more activities that we've done on the next blog. Ciao bello~
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