Kia Ora Aotearoa
“Nature defines who and what we are, and no more so for any nation than New Zealand, Aotearoa, the land of the long cloud.” – Al Morrison
According to Māori mythology, the demigod Maui fished New Zealand out of the ocean using a fishhook. He and his brothers then struggled with the large fish, beating and slashing it creating hills and valleys and giant fissures in the island. Their canoe became the South Island.
The human history of the country begins in the 1300 when Pacific Islanders first came to settle in this new land and created the Māori culture. Then came the Dutch, the British (James Cook) and the French. The British signed a treaty with the Māori chiefs and many settlers arrived to raise sheep and cattle and farm this land. The Treaty of Waitangi had two versions, the English version signed by the British and the Māori version which was not exactly an accurate translation signed by the Māori chiefs.
As recently as the day of our arrival in Wellington 30+ thousand Māori marched across the North Island to protest a reinterpretation of this bill which is the founding treaty of the country.
Thank you, Aaron Smith, for being our host here in New Zealand and both the drivers who drove across the length of the country in 11 days.
Māori carvings and tattoos are rich in personal stories and the stories of the people. While in New Zealand we got to visit many sites like Te Puia in Rotorua and Te Papa museum in Wellington to see and learn about the Māori culture and history.
All along our journey across the islands, Aaron our tour manager shared the myths and legends in each region that we were passing through.
In Rotorua we got to see bubbling mud pots and steaming geysers. It reminded me so much of Yellowstone and Iceland. I did not get a chance but some of the folks from our group visited the spa with its many bubbling pools. The pool in our hotel was over 100 degrees.
The steam warmed rocks ranged from too hot to moderately hot and there were signs everywhere warning people about sitting on the rocks to take in the views. I actually found one that was just right and sat there warming my legs.
Stories about Peter Jackson who has led New Zealand into being one of the premier filming destinations in the world were shared by Aaron and of course New Zealanders are so proud and continue to bask in the glow from the Lord of the Rings. If you’re a fan, a visit to Hobbiton is a must.
As we left the train at Arthur’s Pass, we passed a museum dedicated to LOTR with a large statue of Gollum on the rooftop. Wellington Airport is styled as the airport of the Middle Earth and there is a large statue of Smaug the dragon in the check in area and eagles soaring on the ceiling by the departure gates.
So many new words, Hikoi the peaceful march and Hakka the warrior dance.
New Zealand has more sheep and cows than humans and yet they need more if this corrugated steel huge edifice is a witness. By the way these are public toilets in a small town along the roadside.
while we were to see many amazing waterfalls along our journey these rapids cum falls were the first we stopped at. Apparently, people perform daredevil stunts here though we were not witness to any.
Since I did not stop in Auckland before embarking along the North Island, this was the first inhospitable black rocky beachy that I got to see. As I watched warmly clad in my jacket, I saw a guy emerge from the water after his swim. I will say the locals are definitely a hardy lot.
Napier, the original city was complete destroyed and rebuilt in Art Deco style. This is the building that once housed the town’s newspaper.
Mission Winery in Hawke’s Bay. New Zealand wine of course is famous, and we drank it with dinner or even lunch. I love the Sauvignon Blanc that I’ve tasted in the US and enjoyed a fabulous one with my cousin in Australia however much of the wine that we drank along the way left me underwhelmed.
I have discovered that it is important to know exactly what you like and skip the house wine if you want to drink good wine.
I’m not sure that we even realize that we don’t see birds other than seagulls or ducks in Los Angeles, so it’s a real treat when you hear birdsong all the time and catch glimpses of birds just sitting and enjoying their morning.
Christianity was introduced to New Zealand in 1840 and missionaries traveled along New Zealand establishing churches and stations and educating the Māori about Christianity and converting them.
The hills were alive with the yellow of the gorse. What a wondrous site even though gorse is invasive and not good.
The city of Wellington spread out on the hills above the harbor.
What a fabulous journey across the North Island, learning about the Māori culture, the historic hikoi protesting the proposed changes to the treaty of Waitangi though we escaped all the crowds who had dispersed by the time we showed up in the downtown government area, seeing Hakka live and enjoying all that this part of the world had to offer.