If you missed the first four posts, here they are:
Maybe I didn’t set it up right or WordPress does not have a good UI/UX for linking posts in a series, but if the title has not clued you in, this is the fifth post about my recent trip to New Zealand. It will also be the last of the series unless by demand I post MORE pictures from the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. And if you do want to see them, please leave a comment. Otherwise, the next post will be an end of 2017 review – the blogger version of Auld Lang Syne.
The last stop in New Zealand was the Bay of Islands. According to the explorer Captain James Cook, there are 144 such islands. It’s hard to go to all of them on one trip. The ship’s tender dropped us at Waitangi Island. Waitangi is where the treaty between the English and the Maori was signed in 1840, making New Zealand officially part of the British Empire. There are few things to see on the island, such as the Waitangi national park, but the bulk of our time was spent on Russell Island.
This is Waitangi: 
To get to Russell Island, it takes another ferry ride.
And when we got to Russell Island, we had a nice reception from these middle school students.
The tourist attraction of Russell Island was going up Flagstaff Road and reaching to the top where the first British flag was raised. It is a very steep hill. My mom said, no problem. Well, we started walking, and walking, and walking, and reached some stairs.
Well, we reached the top which was a parking lot. Other people had mentioned they had spotted a kiwi bird. They even shot a video and showed us as motivation just before we began the climb up the stairs. They were right and wrong. They indeed saw a small flightless bird but it was not a kiwi. It was a weka.
How do we know these were weka and not kiwis? 1) Kiwis are nocturnal and 2) the shape of the beak is all wrong.
Any way, the parking lot is not the end. There is a path that takes you to the actual flag pole. There is a stone that marks the occasion of the first British flag raised.
For lunch, we were at the Crusty Crab, one of the best fish and chips I have ever had. The fish was extremely fresh and the batter on the fish was light. The “chips”, that is, fries, are extremely hot. Maybe this is just Crusty Crab, but sauces like tartar sauce and ketchup are extra. I have yet to see other places charge extra for condiments. Of course, some British fish and chips purists might insist on malt vinegar, but we are not in London. LOL
The day started off overcast ended up raining lightly. By then, we were ready to go back to the cruise ship.
Oh, I shot this picture of the cruise ship from hill on Flagstaff Road:
amicusveritae 