Tamaki Maori Village Experience.....

Showered, changed and refreshed, we were collected from our motel.....along with several others from various places of accommodation around Rotorua......and bused to the Tamaki Maori Village....

......upon our arrival we were not allowed to enter the fortified village until the Powhiri ....formal welcome....had been performed.....when entering Maori sacred places it is customary for the host tribe to send out a challenge of peace.....

.....the warriors go through some really intimidating gestures using their bodies and Taiaha ....spear-like weapons.....while poking their tongues out and making their eyes bulge.....until the Teka....peace offering....is placed and received by one of the visiting chiefs.....

......the warriors were extremely fearsome.......and had a definite air of aggression about them....Little Lad and Little Miss were rather unnerved by it all......it was certainly easy to see how Captain Cook, upon sighting the Maori people for the first time, and being confronted by such a spectacle, thought the Maoris were extending a challenge of war.......rather than one of peace!

It all looks so very very green in these photos.....and it was.....we'd had the most torrential downpour while we were getting ready in our motel.....and everything always looks so green and refreshed after rain.....but none more so than the ferns and traditional bush in New Zealand.

After the Karanga.....welcome call....had echoed across the courtyard, followed by the Powhiri ....welcome dance....we were able to enter onto the village grounds.....

Lit by flares and small fire baskets in the now failing light, several tribe members demonstrated different Maori activities from little traditional huts.......

....poi twirling, hand games, flax weaving, weaponry skills, and agility and combat exercises to train for war......a regular occurrence for the Maori warriors of old.

After the demonstrations, we made our way into the Wharenui.....big house, or meeting house ......where Whaikorero.....welcome speeches.....were made......followed by entertainment in the form of traditional songs, dances, the Poi dance and the Haka....telling the story of the Maori people......

By now, it was properly dark and we were very hungry......we made our way to the Wharekai..... food house......past the Hangi.....earth oven pit.....where our food had been cooked in the traditional manner.....rocks are heated in a fire using native timber until they are white hot......they are then put into a pit dug into the earth.....baskets of meat are put directly onto the hot stones, followed by baskets of vegetables, and finally the pudding basket on top .....a wet cloth is placed over the food, followed by wet hessian.....earth is quickly piled over everything to keep the heat inside the earth oven......where it is left to steam and cook for three to four hours.....

....this Hangi pit is rather commercialised compared to what a totally traditional pit would have looked like.

The food was served as a buffet, with an excellent selection of meats, fish, vegetables and salad, followed by a traditional New Zealand dessert of pavlova......I was really sceptical about the Hangi food, since having had one as a child and hating it......but I was most pleasantly surprised at how delicious it all was......we all ate until we were completely stuffed full.

Our evening at the Maori village ended with the poroporoaki.....the official closing ceremony .....with a couple more songs.....waiata.......and whaikorero.....speeches......after which, we were all bused back to our accommodations around Rotorua.

It was an interesting and educational evening for us all....but especially for the Angels who had never encountered Maoris dressed in traditional costume......or had any knowledge of their customs and culture. Before the Angels knew we were going to New Zealand, I surreptitiously asked them what they would like to do if we ever got to go there......Big Miss said she wanted to go to a Maori village......so we.....Big Miss especially.....would like to thank Grandpa and Grandma G for making it possible and treating us to this wonderful cultural experience, which I'm sure will remain in our memories for years to come!

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Wai-O-Tapu......part 1......

Our next stop on our journey up the North Island was Wai-O-Tapu Scenic Reserve......about half way between Taupo and Rotorua......the most amazingly weird and colourful landscape......it was very easy to imagine we'd been abducted by aliens and deposited on their planet.....

All the craters and natural geothermal formations had been named......often with some reference to the inferno of the underworld......from whence the devil resides.....

The yellow colouring comes from a sulphur vent blowing up from inside the earth.......Little Lad and Little Miss found the rotten egg smell of the sulphur rather repugnant......

Devil's Home

The Devil's Ink Pots

The Devil's Inkpots

The Artist's Palette is like just that.....a seemingly flatish, artist's palette shape with a whole range of colours as if an artist had just plopped his paints into little puddles ready to paint the landscape.......

Artist's Palette

Artist's Palette - left

Artist's Palette - right

Part of the Artist's Palette is the Champagne Pool.....so called because of the millions of tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide.....can you see them.....constantly bubbling up to the surface from a steep sided crater 62m deep inside the Earth, formed by a hydro-thermal eruption 700 years ago......

Champagne Pool

And that isn't mist....or smoke......it's steam......rising from the water of the pool which enters through a deep conduit at about 230℃ and cools within the pool to about 74℃.....

Champagne Pool

The vivid orange colour comes from the presence of arsenic and antimony sulphur compounds rich in minerals including gold and silver......

Champagne Pool

On the other side of the boardwalk from the Artist's Palette, looking all the world like a salt flat is the Primrose Terrace.......which is formed from the water of the Champagne Pool......

Primrose Terrace

As we walked around this amazingly weird and wonderful thermal wonderland.....up gentle hills that we didn't really realise we were going up......and down into narrow valleys.....we also wandered through ancient kanuka and manuka forests.....

and forests of pinus radiata.......

which gave us a brief welcome respite from the hot sun bearing down on us......which, combined with the heat rising from the depths of the Earth......created a veritable heat trap......

and hanging high above us in the pine forests were huge bundles of foliage......for what reason, we knew not why.....but they looked like giant Christmas baubles suspended for the festive season.....

At this point Little Lad and Little Miss had had enough of the "stinky eggy smell" that gently pervaded the air......and Grandpa's worn out knee was really aching.....so with Grandma G they left Big Lad, Big Miss and myself to continue the bigger loop, while they took the shorter loop back to the beginning.....to eat ice cream......and await for our return......

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Harbour Cruise & Somes Santuary......

No trip to Wellington would be complete without taking to the water for a cruise around the harbour.....on a gorgeous day there simply is NO better place to be.....we boarded the East by West ferry at Queens Wharf in Wellington's City Centre.........and headed out into the open water of the harbour......Oriental Bay is right in the heart of the City Centre.......it is a delightful little beach....very popular in the summer.......

Oriental Bay, Wellington Harbour

We skirted around the Miramar peninsular.......past Scorching Bay where we went rock pooling with my cousin SL and his children.......

Scorching Bay

heading to Worser Bay (on the right).....the far point of land on the left hand side is Pencarrow Head.....where we cycled to just the day before.....

Pencarrow Head & Worser Bay

before heading back across to Days Bay and finally (for us) onto Somes Island.....seemingly PLONKED, in the middle of Wellington's horseshoe harbour......

Somes Island, Wellington Harbour

Somes Island has been a very important little island in New Zealand's history......in 1860 it was designated for human quarantine purposes, but no facilities were built.....in 1872 the arrival of the England saw sleeping and living quarters hastily constructed after 16 passengers had died onboard due to an outbreak of disease.....any passengers deemed to be fit after six weeks on the island, were able to leave. Over the next 47 years many other vessels had their passengers quarantined on the island due to various diseases like whooping cough, typhoid fever, measles, mumps, influenza, and small pox.....

Somes was recognised as an ideal place to also quarantine animals, and in 1889 was formally designated.....in 1893 the newly formed Ministry of Agriculture set up a stock facility..... this prevented diseases such as foot and mouth, swine fever, rabies, blue tongue, and Q fever being introduced into NZ......

The quarantine station closed in 1995 and has recently been opened to the public as a nature reserve......being rodent free, it is being allowed to revert back to its native flora and fauna....it has some amazing birdlife, and the native tuatara has recently been reintroduced to the island.......as soon as you land on the island, you are debriefed.......and your bags have to been searched for any possible pests.......and even seeds.

After our debriefing and with strict instructions to leave absolutely nothing on the island, we took a gentle stroll up the central hill where we could see the whole of Wellington Harbour.......

Wellington Harbour from Somes Island

From this vantage point, we were able to get a better idea of how far we rode our bikes on the coast road to Pencarrow Head the day before.......all along the base of these hills across the water, from the furthest left all the way to the point......wow......that's a long way for little legs......to the far right of the picture is one of NZ's large inter-island ferries .....although it looks very small in this picture.......

Wellington Harbour from Somes Island

After a wander around the island admiring the spectacular views......and a snack stop......we headed back to the wharf......no, not this old unstable vintage one......

Looking towards Petone & the Hutt Valley

a new modern one just along.....to be collected by the ferry.......

East by West Ferry

and taken back to Queens Wharf in Wellington City Centre......

Queens Wharf, Wellington

Queens Wharf is quite a happenin' place in the City Centre......loads of bars and restaurants to refresh and refuel at......overlooking the harbour......especially on a gloriously sunny day.....but glorious day as it was, we were not tempted to stop on this occasion......we had other plans already booked.......


So zippity-do-day, we zoomed off home for a quick dinner and bathtime/bedtime routines for the Little Lad and Little Miss......and then Grandpa and I zipped off down the road with Big Lad and Big Miss to K and D's for a surprise spot of clay bird shooting in the quickly falling dusk......

Big Lad Clay Bird Shooting - Big Miss Pulling

Wow it's hard......Big Lad, Big Miss and I had never tried this before.......with us all taking turns, and the light fading fast, we only had a taster........so I'm sure we'd like another go sometime.......unfortunately Big Miss didn't manage to hit any of her "birds".......I managed to clip one of mine.......but Big Lad smashed 3 out of 4 "birds".......an absolute superb shot......and it was almost dark for his last one! Thanks K and D for letting us have a go....it was brill!!!

Another fab day all round.....thanks everyone!!!

-xx-

Boxing Day.....

Boxing Day dawned another glorious, sunny day.....but there was no rest for the wicked...... Grandpa's sheep needed to be rounded up......

Grandpa's Sheep

so the lambs could be crutched......that is, their bottoms sheared so they don't get flyblown ......when flies lay eggs on the sheep's dags, and then the maggot infestation eat the sheep's flesh....totally yuk, yuk, yuk......so absolutely essential to crutch the little lambs..... especially in the warm summer weather......isn't farming life just delightful?......

Grandpa Crutching

Once that essential job was done, it was time to pack up a picnic, load up the bikes, and head for the hills......a gently enduring....that is, gentle for the Big Ones, enduring for the Little Ones......bike ride round the coast road to Pencarrow Head was now the order of the day......there was much to take, so everyone had to carry a backpack stuffed full with something for our lunch/dinner on the beach.....and warm clothes in case in got chilly ......Pencarrow Head is one side of the gateway......or one tip of the horseshoe......that creates Wellington Harbour......so is very exposed to winds, especially southerlies.....even Little Miss carried a bumbag while seated on her luxury "tandem" type bike pulled along by Grandpa.......

Grandpa "towing" Little Miss

Grandpa, Grandma G, Little Miss and myself stopped a little short of the lighthouse...... hopeful of being more sheltered slightly back from the exposed tip.....and made camp......while Big Lad, Little Lad, Big Miss, K and D rode the extra way to take some stunning photos......

Pencarrow Head Lighthouse

As it's so exposed, it's understandably quite barren.....

Lighthouse at Pencarrow Head

On Boxing Day, with the sun shining, it was incredibly picturesque.....but don't let that fool you......come a full-on southerly storm.....and this place is very bleak indeed.......in fact, unlike today, back in 1968 the Wahine, an inter-island ferry designed and built specifically for the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand, by Fairfields Ltd Shipbuilders in Glasgow, Scotland foundered on Barrett Reef at the entrance to the harbour, and eventually capsized when two violent storms merged over Wellington, creating a single extratropical cyclone storm that was the worst recorded in New Zealand's history.......Cyclone Giselle was heading south ......it hit Wellington at the same time as another storm which had driven up the West Coast of the South Island from Antarctica...... the winds in Wellington were the strongest ever recorded ......as the storms hit Wellington harbour, the Wahine was making her way past the Cook Strait on the last leg of her overnight journey to Wellington from Lyttleton near Christchurch in the South Island. Of the 610 passengers and 123 crew on board, 53 people died.......making it one of the better known maritime disasters in New Zealand's history.......so, history lesson over......phew, you say......and today, all four Angels are enjoying a spot of beach combing ......marvelling at all the different shells.....

if they were in just the same spot back on 10 April 1968 and looked up from their search, they would have seen the Wahine listing on it's side in the storm.....

Wahine Sinking - 10 April 1968

Thankfully this was not the scene today....a gloriously, warm, tranquil day......just perfect for a little teatime treat on the beach.......the Angels collected some driftwood........ Grandpa made a little campfire......he was very naughty.....he shouldn't have because of the fire risk.....but he WAS very careful......we boiled a pot of fresh sea water to cook some saveloys......pink skinned sausages.....to be enjoyed smothered in tomato sauce and wrapped in blankets of bread......together with some bacon and egg pie, freshly made by Grandma G before we left home.......and all washed down with a welcome cuppa made from water boiled in a Thermette.....storm kettle to the Brits.......yum, yum, yum.......simply the best beach grub going......

Tummies full, the Angels took some time to relax before their long bike ride back to the car ......while the grown-ups cleared everything away back into the backpacks.....they were going to be a little lighter on the way back, now that we'd eaten all the tasty treats.....nothing was left to show we'd been there....leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but photos ......is a good motto to live by......

Little Lad Basking in the Sunshine

On a totally cloudless day, it is easy to see the South Island from here.....although despite the light, wispy clouds, you can still just make out hills in the South Island......

Looking towards the South Island

We'd ridden the long and winding road out to the farthest point you can see....

and now we were riding the long and winding gravel coast road home....well, not quite home.....back to the car at least....

It was hard going on the way back.....no southerly today to blow us back to the car.....instead a headwind to hamper and slow our return.....

Grandpa, Little Miss & Grandma G

The Angels managed superbly on their bikes, despite Little Lad coming a cropper in a nose to tail pile up right at the start........gravel and brakes and riding in a bunch take some getting used to......it was a long way there......and even longer back.....but everyone made it......Little Miss didn't even seem tired, having been towed along by Grandpa.....Little Lad, on the other hand was totally knackered, and quite prepared to sleep it off in the boot of the car......

Tuckered Out Little Lad

The housing architecture in NZ is a real mixture.....most homes are stand alone, with large gardens or 'sections' .....because space has never been an issue here.....mostly made of wood, not much brick.....some new modern designs with huge windows of glass....loads of 1930's, 40's, and 50's state.....council.....houses.....mostly bungalow styles with only new modern ones having a second, or maybe third level....... none that are really, really old, as in a few hundred years.....but quite a few Victorian villas and charmingly restored colonial cottages like this cute little one.......

The villas and cottages are my favourites, and I'd seen plenty of beautifully restored examples, but I always seemed to be driving in a car, so never managed to snap a photo......but on our way home from our coastal bike ride we stopped in Petone looking for somewhere to buy an ice cream for dessert......and here, in the middle of the main street.....which is very rare actually......I spotted this charming little cottage.....

Cottage in Jackson Street, Petone

Just along from the cottage is this delightfully renovated police station and jail......

Renovated Police Station & Jail, Petone

and further along still is Te Puna Wai Ora (Spring of Life)......a large granite water feature where anyone can come and collect the free pure artesian drinking water which originates several kilometres up the Hutt River.....the water enters the artesian aquifer (layers of sand, gravel and boulders locked in by clay and silt) and is naturally filtered through the alluvial gravels and sands of the Hutt Valley over several years before reaching Petone and flowing out to sea .....some of the water is drawn into Te Puna Wai Ora.......it is free from micro-organisms and organic substances, and is perfectly safe to drink in its natural form because it has been naturally filtered in its long journey through the aquifer.......and it was just delicious.......

Te Puna Wai Ora (Spring of Life)

Jackson Street....the main street in Petone......has been totally revitalised in recent years, and a special "Walk of Champions" has been laid.....commemorative plaques.....similar in concept to Hollywood Stars Walk of Fame.....have been set into the footpath to acknowledge Petone's sporting heroes......on our stroll looking for ice cream, we came across a very special "Walk of Champions" plaque......for a very special person......Grandpa.....for his participation in the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games, and the 1978 Commonwealth Games where he competed in cycling.....it was a very proud moment for me and my Angels to see that my Dad had been recognised in this way.

Ice creams were eventually found at Macdonalds...of all places.....actually the only place that was open on Boxing Day evening.....and enjoyed by all......then it was home to bed for the Little Ones......it had been an extremely long and tiring day for them.

It was not however, the end of the day for the Big Ones......Grandpa snuck out with Big Lad on a little jaunt with a .22 rifle......now I know some people do not agree with hunting.....but rabbits, hares and possums cause havoc on NZ farms.......so evening shooting jaunts are quite common place in farming areas......Big Lad had had his first try with a gun......an air rifle......at a target the other day, but it turned out the sights were broken, so there were no bulls eyes achieved......he'd never, ever fired a .22 rifle when he set off with Grandpa ......a hare was spotted in the fading dusk light.....it was tracked as it bounded through the paddock......a shot rang out.....and Big Lad had bagged his hare with his very first shot ......what a crack marksman, or what!!!......and he was soooo very proud of himself.......

Big Lad's Hare

Wow.....this has been a most epic post.....it was a most epic day.....full to the brim with excitement, fun, moments of proudness, and family togetherness......good times!!!

-xx-