Waitangi 2

Woke early this morning and headed out for a walk just after 7.

The conference I am speaking at is in the hotel where I'm staying, The Copthorne Hotel and Resort Bay of Islands. It is literally right next door to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, the birthplace of New Zealand. I suppose I came here as a kid, but I don't remember it, so it was a brand new experience walking the grounds at dawn.

Officially it doesn't open until 8.30 and technically it costs money to visit (although free for Kiwis now) but I took the liberty of the early morning to have my own personal tour. It was awesome. Made especially more so by a simply stunning sunrise over the Bay of Islands vista in front of the Treaty grounds.

Quite a surreal experience; one I won't forget for a while.

Then it was back to the hotel for breakfast and the start of the conference. My sessions started at 11 and finished at 2.30. They went well, but to be honest it was all well beyond what they could understand/cope with. My brief was to "scare them", hopefully out of their apathy. But I think some of them nearly died!

Bugger ;-)

BTW, actual colours, not edited!