Racing the waves

Today is Waitangi Day. On 06 February 1840 at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, a treaty was signed by William Hobson on behalf of the British Crown, and by a number of Rangitira (chiefs) who had gathered for the purpose. This Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti Waitangi) is the founding document of the country known now as New Zealand. There are various interpretations ranging from the erroneous ceding by Maori of sovereignty over the land in exchange for British law, to the equally fallacious guarantee of independence; almost parallel societies. One interpretation I read yesterday seemed best; its about fairness. And Maori have not always (one may say not often) been treated fairly in the last 172 years.

I wanted to mark this day with a photograph of a sunrise. Complete, and dense, cloud cover prevented that and I was exceptionally disappointed with my photos from this morning's run. Whether the lens needs cleaning, or I moved every time, every picture was just a little blurred/soft.

Boys were full of energy after breakfast, and causing noise and tension inside. It was windy and showery outside. So I persuaded them to come to the beach with me for a
play before the tide went out too far. The selling point (the strongest bargaining
chip!) was "You can bring the water pistols". Almost reminiscent of the
muskets provided by the English in 1840! Until then Mr H had other things he
wanted to do.

Strong wind off the bay into the beach as the ebbing tide gradually exposed more and more sand and rocks. Great fun was had with water pistols, waves, running, jumping, and even kung fu-ing the waves. One photo I was tempted by was Young L
standing on a rock, making like a statue.

This one, though shows their delight in what was throughout the time we were there (until Young L fell and then started to shiver uncontrollably) joint play and lovely interaction. Needing no input from Grandpa who watched and took pictures and felt pleased that our country has young persons to take it on into the future.