12/31/07

Further tales from New Zealand!

Since our last correspondence, we have traveled across the North Coast of the South Island to Nelson and Picton. Like most of the towns and cities we have visited, both were  charming communities of parks and beaches, with a dominant Anglican church perched on a hill and a main street with numerous  galleries and shops. They all had i-sites with helpful people promoting all sorts of adventures such as bungy-jumping, swimming with dolphins, river kayaking, helicopter rides, Lord of the Rings tours, etc.  From Picton we took a three hour ferry ride through the Queen Charlotte Sounds, past yet more pretty coastline and islands to Wellington.

After being on remote South Island for 2 weeks we felt a bit like country bumpkins being overwhelmed by the big city. Wellington is a bustling harbour city with the oddest assortment of architectural styles from Victorian gothic to space age modern and everything in between. We toured the Parliament Buildings where we learned about its quite progressive government. They have a proportional representation system of government in which citizens get 2 votes, one for their local member of parliament and one for their party of choice. Based on overall percentage of vote, members of small parties such as the Greens can become members of parliament. There are eight parties forming various coalitions and alliances which seem to be working. Interestingly New Zealand has a female prime minister, 30% female MPs and 20% Maori MPs. New Zealand abolished its Senate in the 1950s. We saw the beautiful Standing Committee room which was decorated with traditional tiki and flax weavings of every Maori iwi (tribe) and incorporated Maori traditions, language and decision making into government processes. We were also shown the underground multi-million dollar retrofitting that was done to preserve the parliament buildings and the Parliamentary Library in case of earthquakes. Wellington is situated on a fault line and gets thousands of small earthquakes every year. There is currently concern that about 450 heritage buildings do not meet the standards for earthquake safety should the ‘big one” come.

We particularly enjoyed the national museum, Te Papa, with displays about the Maori and other Polynesian cultures, about the history of immigration to New Zealand, the geology and natural history of the islands, and about features that are unique to New Zealand such as the wool industry, indigenous music, etc. It was a long weekend in Wellington prior to students returning to school after summer vacation. There was an event sponsored by McDonalds and Verizon called X-Air. All along the harbour were basketball, skateboarding, and BMX biking competitions, rock bands and festival kiosks. The place was full of teenagers in baggy shorts, low-cut blue jeans, dreadlocks,   We thought we’d been transported to California.

From Wellington we traveled to Turangi (trout fishing capital of the world) on the edge of Tongariro National Park. We traversed coastline and passed through dramatic hills and valleys until we arrived at the lava field deserts that lie below Mount Ruatoho,  Mount         . We had intended to hike the trails (or as they say in New Zealand, “tramp the tracks”) in Tongariro but unfortunately all of New Zealand was experiencing “dridful witha.” It was “bucketing” and “hosing” everywhere according to the “witha lass” on TV who reported on flooding, power outages, fallen trees and traffic calamities throughout the island. New Zealand is a wee bit of land in the middle of the ocean buffeted from all sides. It gets the nor’westers followed by the sou’westers bringing all sorts of  winds, rains, squalls and storms.  We did manage to find some short walks to waterfalls and lakes and spent the rest of the afternoon soaking in a hotsprings pool populated by people with the most amazing tattoos.

 Our next route was along the shores of Lake Taupo, a large freshwater lake formed in a sunken volcanic caldera. Apparently there is some concern that the underwater volcano might still be active. We arrived at Rotorua an area of considerable active geothermal activity including geysers, bubbling mud-pots and hot springs. Many of the thermal areas are on private land and large admission fees are charged to view them. We found this disconcerting after seeing the larger and more dramatic basins of Yellowstone for free. We went to the (free) central city park which unexpectedly “exploded” 4 years ago killing several people and leaving the area pockmarked with sink holes, mud pots, boiling basins and geysers. Jordan went “Zorbing,” an activity unique to Rotorua. A Zorb is a large plastic sphere inside of which is a smaller sphere inside of which someone sits. Between the two spheres is water. The Zorb rolls down a hill while the passenger gets sloshed around inside. Jordan thought it was great fun!

Rotorua is a hub of Maori culture. We went to Te Puia, a Maori attraction which include thermal areas and geysers, a kiwi conservation site and a wood-carving studio. In the evening there was a traditional Hangi ceremony which included the welcoming ceremony (powhiri), the ferocious posture dance by the warriors with their protruding tongues and bulging eyes, and the poi dance by the maidens. We are learning some fascinating things about the Maori culture, language and place names including the way it has been subsumed into a humorous style of slang, e.g. Waikikamukau  (A  mythical town that is so remote it makes Eketahuna look like a metropolis. The essence of hickdom e.g. the way we felt when we arrived in Wellington (pronounced as "Why kick a moo cow").

From here we travel to the Coromandel Peninsula, the Bay of Islands and Auckland.

Whakamāori anō ! Goodbye for now.

Carol, Erich and Jordan