The flagpole at Waitangi. Photo / Supplied
Rob Cox and family are charmed by Waitangi and its neighbouring towns.
The Treaty Grounds at Waitangi have, over the years, left me with mixed emotions. All the news on TV with people yelling and shouting. As a child I thought it was where politicians went if they had been naughty.
I've always been proud that my 11-year-old twin boys had devoted a great deal of their time at primary school to the kapa haka group, and thought a trip to the Treaty grounds would be an incredible experience for them and help shake off some of those bad memories for me.
The Maori challenge our group received at the meeting house was spectacular. Daughter Evie, 5, stayed very close to us, and was surprisingly silent while huge Maori warriors cried out at us with glaring eyes. Eventually we were welcomed into the meeting house where a group performed beautifully, the haka being the perfect finale.
The tour guide was a direct descendant of one of the chiefs who signed the Treaty and he explained in great detail all the carvings inside.
Evie put her hand up and asked where all the carvings of women were. He got Evie to turn around and there, right in the centre of the room, was a beautiful carving of a woman. He explained the important role women played within the tribe as leaders, teachers and carers. My daughter loved the carving and insisted on a selfie with it.
Outside we were taken to the Treaty house and then down to the impressive waka which faces Russell. Our guide explained the Treaty, how it was all to do with trade and the need to have an agreed process in place. He went on to explain how Russell was called "the hell hole of the Pacific", the original wretched hive of scum and villainy.
The kids let off a lot of steam running around outside, where there are stunning panoramic views of the entire Bay of Islands.
The grounds do take a while to see so we had worked up an appetite. We popped back into Paihia and sat in style out on the main pier at Alongside Bar. I can't think of a better spot for lunch on a sunny day with a cold beer.
Our accommodation was right across the road from the pier. The Kingsgate was a great hit with the kids and in no time at all we had lost them to the games room, then eventually the giant pool - even though it was the first week of spring.
The next day they were up early to make the most of the breakfast buffet, where the view over the bay at sunrise was well worth getting up for.
Just a walk across the road and we were back on the pier, hopping on to a Fullers Hole in the Rock cruise, a box I had never ticked. It was a stunning day to be out in the bay. My boys went to the front of the boat to get the best views while my daughter performed scenes from the movie Annie for several tourists who were also given the option of a photo shoot with her, whether they wanted it or not.
When you finally get to the Hole in the Rock you can feel the swell pick up and my family went quiet for a while. It was great to see the impressive hole I had heard so much about as a child, but it was also great to make it to Russell, feel land underfoot and have a traditional fish and chips meal at the famous Duke of Marlborough. It may have been a hell hole back in the day but Russell is now a bustling little town of eclectic-looking restaurants and cafes beautifully nestled in a bay. Apart from being a wonderful piece of Russell history, the Duke is a great family bar, restaurant and hotel.
At the end of Russell's waterfront sits Pompallier House. This has always been a favourite of mine, and one I desperately wanted the kids to see. It was built by French Catholics in the traditional rammed-earth method, a stunning, simple design. It's really annoying they didn't build more of these.
The missionaries then set about translating texts into Maori and then, after setting up a tannery and printing room, published books to freely distribute to the Maori community. Working in a print industry, I found it all fascinating. The tour guide explained how the easiest job in the tannery was the task of skiving the leather to create suede, from which comes the term "skiving off work". Did you know that to ink up the plates they used dabbers to dab the ink on, so that's where becoming a "dab hand" comes from. My son got to press down the print press on the first sheet and so got to make a "good first impression" ... there's a tea towel you can get with all the sayings written out.
Dinner that night was back in Paihia on the pier at 35 South, a great family restaurant boasting an aquarium the size of a dairy, full of crayfish and small schools of fish, which kept my kids busy for ages.
After a very enjoyable meal we were looking forward to an enjoyable walk home... until my boys spotted the piano of many colours in the town reserve and decided to entertain Paihia with a piano by moonlight recital. Whether the locals wanted one is another thing entirely.
The next day we had a pleasant 20-minute drive to Kerikeri to go see the old Stone Store. The route has changed now and you end up driving to the carpark on other side of the river from the store and then walk over a lovely new bridge past Kemp House. I had forgotten what a great river the store sits beside. My boys loved it and sat on the rocks by the small falls eating a snack, daring each other to make it across without falling into the river.
Kemp House was a new experience for me. Our tour guide took us through New Zealand's first European-built home. It sits next to the store and was upriver from the local Maori village. The Kemps were the owners, and their son used to go fishing and get up to mischief with a young boy from the village called Hone Heke. I must be getting old because my wife and I were just fascinated by all of the history and I could see my kids give me the look of boredom I used to give my folks. But the guide worked her magic on our rascals and made them pretend to be living back in the day, sitting them down with original writing slates and making them do a drawing. Next they had to fetch the bed pans ... and what horror was on their faces when they heard what a bed pan was used for.
What I found most interesting was that the Kemp family had several Maori live with them to help run the house and the Kemp children grew up easily adopting the Maori culture from the neighbouring village, but struggled to integrate with the British colonials when they arrived.
Kerikeri is a beautiful town, rich in gardens and orchards. It has a lovely, laid-back feel to it. Speaking of laidback, next on our list was Marty's cafe and golf range, a delightful little lifestyle block with a great cafe and beautiful home-cooked food. Everything is made on site, including the delicious slice and cakes which have become world famous in Kerikeri. The entire family had a crack at hitting golf balls on the range (my wife discovered something else she's good at) and then Marty gave us all a lesson in archery which the kids loved (and lo and behold my wife beat me at that too).
It was a wonderful, relaxing afternoon outdoors and the kids got to use up some of that endless energy which seems to have eluded me.
Our last night in Paihia was divine. We popped down the road (after another long swim at the Kingsgate) to Sauce, a lovely little pizzeria where you choose from a mile-long list of toppings, tick off everything you want then leave it to the chef while you sup away on one of a very large variety of craft beers. Great atmosphere, passionate owners and a very popular place with the locals.
The next morning we packed up, after yet another freezing swim, and said our goodbyes to the Bay of Islands. I hope my kids remember Waitangi more positively than I did at their age. How could you not when your days were filled with buffets at sunrise and piano by moonlight?
'We can make three days feel like a week,' one expert said.