February 2 2006

On Friday we will be going to Waitangi for the anniversary of the signing of the Triti of Waitangi (or Treaty of Waitangi as Europeans call it) which happened on 6 February 1840. We are lucky because we will have a Maori elder - Kuia who will take care of us.

We spoke to one of the organisers on the phone and she was more than happy to help, in fact it was she who invited us to come early and stay with her iwi (tribe) on the Marae grounds (a Marae is a place where the Maori meet ). As we may be the only Pakeha (non Maori) people who will take part in the Friday Powhiri - official welcome rituals, our Kuia will introduce us to the protocol, bring us onto the Marae and take care of us.

The day is really important and there will be lots of things happening in Waitangi, but the best thing that will happen to me is that we will have a chance to spend the time with Maori people and see it all from their perspective. I am sure we will learn a lot and we are really thankful that we are allowed to stay on the Marae Ground, in the centre of it all. Hope you are excited too. We will share all we experienced and learned with you very soon.