Day 8 - National Holiday

New Zealand, like any other country, has a national holiday. On the day of 06/02/1840, 45 Māori chiefs gathered with William Hobsoon (representative of the British Crown) and signed the Treaty of Waitangi. This treaty officially declared New Zealand as a colony of the British Empire and is still celebrated as a national holiday today. Every year, a big festival takes place at the site of the signing in Waitangi, where dance and music groups perform, but also political issues are brought to the public's attention. On this day, several Māori tribal leaders gathered and protested for the return of unjustly confiscated land. Afterwards, we watched as a traditional canoe, called Waka, was ritually released into the Bay of Islands. According to Māori legends, Kupe, the Polynesian discoverer of New Zealand, also traveled to the New Zealand islands on a canoe.