Kia Ora! We immerse ourselves in Māori culture

 Today we visit Rotorua (Tauranga) nestled on the Bay of Plenty. Its watched over by Mount Maunganui, an extinct volcano. In case you haven’t noticed, everywhere we have visited lately has been related to some kind of volcanic activity. As we headed out today, we were able to see how active and vibrant the city of Tauranga is. It is Saturday and there seems to be tons of activities at the various beaches in town. Surfing, volleyball,sailing and lessons in each seemed to all be available. We had a quick trip around the beaches and then headed to Rotorua for our immersion into the Geothermal features of the area and the Māori culture.

Norfolk pine

Such green!!

The school we are visiting is the national school for carving(including bone and pounamu wood) and weaving along with metalwork. Its purpose is to promote and perpetuate Māori crafts and arts. Along with the school, the geothermal features are very impressive.The Rotorua area is the largest concentration of Māori in the country. We started with a walk through the woods to get to the Kiwi exhibit. 

Artwork greeting us upon arrival 

Entrance

More Māori totems

Yes, that’s one word!

A warrior outside the kiwi experience. We were able to go into a specially designed enclosure to view the kiwi birds. This bird is a flightless bird native to NZ. It is , at full growth, about the size of a chicken . This is almost an extinct species. They are nocturnal and the way we got to see them is by the building being dark and their schedules have been reversed. There were no pictures to be taken so as to not disrupt the carefully planned schedule and that is exactly what we did. We were rewarded by seeing all three birds in the exhibit. It was fabulous!! One of the best experiences ever!! Something I will always remember.  After the Kiwi birds it was off to the thermal features..

Since we have spent time in Yellowstone, we were unsure of what to expect..we were not disappointed 

There aren’t many active geysers due to the local residents using the geo

thermal features for energy for years. there were a few geysers that went dormant for close to 30 years. A few months ago three of them began producing steam and water again. 

Us and the geyser 

Now on to the art and craft school. Inside were able to see a few students working on learning their chosen art. 

Bone carvers, each carefully taking the vision they had in their minds and transferring that vision into reality. All the students must be Māori but May come from anywhere in the country. Part of the entrance fee we paid to see the geysers goes towards scholarships for students. They stay here until it is felt they have mastered the craft. We were able to go inside the art/craft school and see students at work learning the skill to become Māori craftsman. 

Weaving

Weaving using reed

Large wood carving

Included in our tour was a Preformance explaining more about the ceremony of Māori life. Here are picture of the inside. Note the dancers are not green skinned- a reflection of the green light above them

Welcoming our chief began the program. When the Māori chief came towards him he laid a fern leaf on the ground in front of our chief. When our chief picked it up he there was a spear brandishing and facial expressions period before we were allowed into the meeting house

Great carved details in the roof.

The dancers were wonderful and welcoming. 

After our visit was over, we headed by bus for a brief tour of Rotorua and then on our journey back home here’s a few pictures of buildings in the city. 

On the way back to the ship our driver pulled over so we could see the “other”kiwis. I had no idea they grew on vines similar to grapes!! Look closely and you can see the little brown fruit hanging! 

We made it back to the ship and all felt like the day had been a great tour!

Auckland-a city of sails!

This morning  we walked through the city on a mission to purchase some art supplies. I had so much fun with the watercolor class that I would like to continue learning. Auckland is a city of made from volcanoes so anywhere aside from the harbor means a walk up hill. 

The bottom of a steep hill to get into Albert Park.I think I counted 149 steps and then it was a continued rise up for hundreds more steps without the stairs. When we got to the top I was out of breath but the view was marvelous! 

Queen Victoria 

Worth every step to get up here!

What a lovely park to spend time in. There were huge trees, blooming flowers and an incredible quiet in the middle of the city. 

Our treck for art supplies ended at the University of Auckland at Gordon Harris art supply. With help we got everything I will need to continue my quest to learn watercolor painting. The luckiest part of the journey is that it’s all downhill to get back to the ship!!below are some sights along the way back to Queen Street and the ship.

Art museum 

Civic theater 

Street art

Again, old and new intermixed

This was our last stop before lunch at the ship. I’ve developed a heck of a head cold ( tested neg for the C word) and didn’t really have much for a non productive cough. Here we found the most delightful pharmacist who helped us get a cough syrup with a med we had never heard of- turns out it can’t be sold in the US and is a schedule 1 narcotic- and NZ can’t sell dextramethoraphane.. go figure- anyway here a pharmacist can prescribe drugs and after a conversation about my current drugs and usual health, I came away with the syrup( works great) and cough drops. Al was quite impressed with the pharmacist and felt very good about his prescription. It’s always interesting how other countries handle their health care systems. 

After lunch we left for our big event of the day and number one on Albert’s wish list:

Sailing on an Americas Cup Ship

The cloudy rainy day broke and the blue sky and sun came out just in time!!

The ship we are sailing on today is NZL41. It came 2nd to Team New Zealand in 1995 and completed the semi finals . Later it was used as a training boat racing in the 150th Americas cup jubilee in 2001. It remains in the original configuration as when she was raced with minor alterations including hand rails . She even had the honor of having Prince William sail her during the Royal Tour in 2016

Her length is 80ft/24 meters and the mast height is 113ft/34 meters. We could participate as much or as little as we wanted. 

The helm

Before the action

The sail needs to be raised

Al checking things out. The handles in the foreground are a set of four that are used to raise and lower the sails. 

Sails full

It was at this point I realized I’m not cut out for sailing..when we started flying at 9-12 knots and the ship was sideways I became frozen in my spot, grasping the handrails. 

What you can’t tell from this picture is the yacht is practically tipped on it’s opposite side..

Al working hard

He was having a great day!

At the helm

Heading under the harbor bridge. There was only a couple of meters clearance 

It was a glorious day on the water. The weather cooperated ( after we got on land and into our rooms the skies opened up and rained) I survived without falling overboard and most importantly, Albert got to work and sail on an Americas Cup Ship.. our lives sure are blessed!!  Tomorrow is our last day here in Auckland. It has bee A wonderful port stop and worth a further visit someday!

What a great city!

 

Looking from the ship towards

Shopping along Queen Street. This is a youth Hostel  building.

Stores along Queen street included Prada,Rolex,Scotch &Soda,and every upscale store you could think of. We stopped at H & M which had reasonable prices but couldn’t find anything to fit…Scotch & Soda had very nice clothes and a 40% off sale. But 40% of a T-Shirt for $189.99 NZ was way out of my price range.It was on sale so would be less but still… a T-shirt!!!!

We finished our shopping and headed back to the ship for lunch 

After lunch we headed out on our bus tour.  Because of the flooding, the route Meandered along the hillsides of the city.  I tried to get some pictures of the bay. It was impressive and I can imagine the cost of the houses with this view.  Auckland has the 4th or 5th highest housing prices in the world. With views like this, I can understand! There are 1.6 million people who make this city their home. Our bus driver mentioned that unless a young person has “the bank of dad” there is no way they can afford to buy a home in the city. 

After so many gray rainy days the sun shine was glorious.

The architecture here is quite interesting. Victorian, Art Deco,traditional,and modern. Above were buildings that Im assuming are apartments/condos. Round,triangular,square the variety is immense. Here’s a few more

Above is a church that was moved across the road when a new church was built. It originally was tagged for demolition but the citizens vehemently opposed that option so the church was loaded up and moved across the street in one day. Not a single window broke! Must have had Devine intervention!!

This building is on the campus of the University of Auckland

From all over the city this tower (the sky tower) can be seen. It is said to be the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere. We noticed it the day we came into the harbor and it has continued to be a beacon for our navigation daily.

 Of course there is a restaurant up at the top that revolves plus you can don a suit and jump off or walk outside on a mesh floor. I politely declined Al’s offer to film me doing either of those two things.

Auckland is named the city of sails due to the large yachting community. The harbor is perfect for yacht racing and the Americas cup has been held here. The TeamNZ if housed in this building.  The hope is for the team this year to keep the cup again away from America this next cup race in Barcelona.  It cost gobs and gobs of money to run such a team and they are fortunate to currently have sponsorship from Emirates. Tomorrow we will get to climb into an Americas cup yacht and sail the harbor. We are told we can be as active as we want with participation.. more on this story tomorrow! I just want to stay in the boat and not fall overboard.

The final activity tonight was another local cultural presentation for our ship. A Māori group came to explain the culture of their people in song.  They explained the HaKa and its significance to the Māori. If you have ever seen the Rugby team “All Blacks” preform their HaKa before a game you will remember how much yelling, eye bulging and sticking out of tongues. It was quite impressive. And informative.