So we went through a time warp on our way from Tahiti to New Zealand. We left on January 13 at 5:30pm; we spent about six hours in the air; and we landed in Auckland on January 14 at about 10:00 pm. A whole day later. During the flight, we went over the dateline and we had a difficult time figuring that out the whole time we were there. Also, we had to get used to driving (and walking) on the left side.
In addition to the time warp and the cars coming at you on the wrong side of the road, we were further confused by the light switches, which are turned on when they are down instead of up. And you never know which side the hot water will be on. However, after the vibrant chaos of Latin America, New Zealand was a peaceful, calm interlude before heading on to Southeast Asia. Things were familiar, just slightly off kilter, and people spoke English, but with funny vowels. It was like going down the rabbit hole and finding that home had been slightly warped by being transported halfway around the world.
In New Zealand, we rented a car and spent a few days exploring the North Island. Then we drove to Wellington, on the southern tip of the North Island, and took the ferry to Picton, on the South Island. From there, we took the Coastal Pacific train down the east coast to Christchurch, with an overnight stopover in Kaikoura on the way down.
We are going to break the New Zealand blog into several episodes as some of them have a lot of photos. You will notice several themes that kept recurring as we explored both islands: the amazing geology and geography of these islands; the history and culture of the Maori people; and the filming of the epic movies, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
On our drive from Auckland to our airbnb in Matamata, our headquarters on the North Island, we were struck by how incredibly tidy and picturesque the landscape was.
The green hills were neatly trimmed by the cows and sheep dotted throughout the fields, and orderly little bunches of trees provided shade and shelter at appropriate intervals. The mountains added a hazy blue border on the horizon. The term “bucolic” kept coming to mind, although it is not a word I usually use to describe a pastoral scene because it actually sounds like an illness to me. But the word really fits much of the agricultural part of New Zealand that we saw, perhaps because the landscape is so incredibly tidy that it almost makes you want to gag sometimes. Almost, but not quite, because it really is beautiful. Beautifully bucolic.
Te Puia
Because the date change messed up my original planning a bit, we only had about an hour to settle into our airbnb before heading off to our first tourist excursion -- Te Puia -- about an hour and half away. This is the site of geothermal geysers and mud pools as well as a Maori cultural and educational center.
This is where we learned our first Maori words: kia ora - a general greeting that has been adopted by English speaking New Zealanders that means good health/life or be well. Our second Maori word was a little harder to master but we gave it a good attempt after our guide walked us through it one syllable at a time. Most of their names were also long multi-syllable affairs as well.
Our visit started with a guided tour of the educational workshops where Maori men and women are learning traditional arts such as jade carving, wood sculpture, and weaving. Along the route, we were greeted with many examples of carved gods and spirits.
The workshops were spacious and well equipped with many works in progress on display. They were designed so that visitors could easily see and talk with the students as they worked.
There was also a tattoo studio. There is a lot of cultural history and significance to tattoos for the Maori and apparently facial tattoos indicate some kind of important personal achievement. One of the men in the woodworking workshop had a complete facial tattoo so I think he was probably one of the teachers.
After the workshops, our guide took us to the geothermal valley to see the geysers:
And the hot mud pit that plopped and bounced like little frogs:
Sitting on the hot rocks felt really good on my hips and legs for a bit, but not too long.
We then went to see the cooking pit where they were going to roast meat and vegetables for our feast later.
But before the food, we were entertained by a Maori troupe performing traditional songs and dances. They were lively and gorgeous to listen to.
The feast was truly a feast with a monster buffet of salads, meats, fish and vegetables of many descriptions. An added treat was that we were sitting with a couple from India that we made friends with and exchanged contact information. Hopefully, we can visit them in New Delhi on a future trip,
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