Kerikeri & Waitangi Highlights

Discover New Zealand's historic Maori and European influences during this scenic journey to Kerikeri and Waitangi. You’ll drive to the commercial center of the Bay of Islands and site where one of the earliest missionary stations was established in 1823. Continue on to Kerikeri, where New Zealand missionaries built the first house, Kemp House, and adjacent Stone Store. Today, Kerikeri is now a thriving citrus fruit growing area.

Upon your return to Waitangi, you’ll visit the Waitangi Treaty House. It was here that the Maori chiefs signed over sovereignty of their lands to Queen Victoria of Great Britain in 1840. Most of the timber used to build this house, first lived in by British resident and acting Governor James Busby, was brought over from Sydney and later assembled on site.

Your tour will conclude with a stroll through the beautiful grounds of the Treaty House. Along the way, you’ll see the impressive Maori meeting place and a ceremonial war canoe.