Sunday, November 22nd, Tauranga, New Zealand
Bob: Partly on the basis of Clive's recommendation, we had booked a tour to the Tamaki Maori Village, but that didn't leave until 11:00 a.m. so we had a bit of time after the ship docked in the Bay of Plenty to get off and explore the city of Tauranga a bit. First off the bat we found an Internet Cafe where we signed in and sent congratulations to Sarah and her new baby Emmett as well as checking our email more generally. Then we walked over to the base of Mount Maunganui, which lies at one end of the port area. Mount Maunganui is small but very pretty, having the symmetry I would expect from an old volcanic cone. As it was only 232 meters high, we were tempted to try to climb it, but we didn't think we had enough time to still make it back for our tour departure. Instead, we settled for taking some panoramic shots of the bay and our ship at anchor and then ambled along the beautiful crescent beach back to the ship to catch our tour bus. |
Monika: We had a tour booked to go to a recreated Maori village. But the tour did not start until 11:00. So when the ship docked in near Mt. Maunganui a small mountain on the end of the peninsula we decided to walk through the little seaside resort to the base of the mountain. The instructions from the personnel at the dock where simple: "go straight and hang a left at the Burger King" ahh, America has invaded even this little place. The main street had the usual assortment of tourist shops and boutiques and at the end of the street was an Internet Cafe. Since we had found out about our new grandson yesterday, we hoped we would get an email with a little more details and were not disappointed. There were even a couple of pictures of Rowan and Annalise with Emmett. We were of course thrilled and sent a congratulatory email and also send emails to the German contingent of our family. This all took a little time, so we had barely enough time to walk to the foot of the mountain, take pictures, and hustle back to the ship along the shore. Along the way we saw picturesque boats on the shore so of course more pictures needed to be taken. We made it to the pier exactly at 10:45 our meeting time and every one else was already on the bus. I was glad Heinke wasn't here, since she would not have been pleased. |
Bob: The 90 minute bus drive out to the Tamaki Maori Village was really quite interesting. First we passed through a huge area of kiwi fruit production, which was so profitable that it had apparently squeezed out other uses of the land in the area like dairy herds or sheep farming. The kiwi fruit plant itself is a low-growing vine that is about the same height as a the vines in a vineyard and supported in a somewhat similar fashion by a waist-high wooden framework, But the kiwi plants looked a lot bushier than a typical vineyard, so much so that the plants seemed to form a continuous green canopy rather than the spaced, orderly rows you would see in a typical vineyard. I was astonished at how the kiwi farmers had also planted rows of trees as windbreaks at the edge of the kiwi fields, but then trimmed the trees back to be only about a foot thick; the end result was a tall but very narrow green wall protecting the kiwi plants from the prevailing winds, I guess. |
Monika: The trip to the Tamaki village took about 90 minutes through a variety of landscapes. First we drove through the Kiwi growing area. The Kiwi was imported from China as the Chinese gooseberry. When the New Zealanders started to note its export potential they renamed it Kiwi fruit. The Kiwi fruit grows on vines and each orchard is protected against the ever present wind by a row of trees all around. We found out that there are a variety of Kiwi fruits besides the green one we see in the States. They are even developing a kind that can be peeled like a banana. Now that would be useful! After the Kiwi-orchard area, we came into to the timber area. A North American pine is grown for its timber value. It seems these trees grow much quicker here in New Zealand where there is an abundance of rain and temperate climate all year round. The other tree that is being planted is the Australian eucalyptus tree. Its pulp makes very fine paper for writing and photos. But with the advent of computerized communication and digital pictures there is much less demand and the eucalyptus trees may have to make way for more pines. |
Bob: As we passed through Rotorua, an interesting looking small city, we picked up our guide for the afternoon and drove a bit out of town to the Tamaki Village. Although clearly constructed for tourists, the Tamaki Village felt very culturally genuine to us. First we went through an official Maori greeting ceremony with Ed, our elected chief of the day, making first contact with the warriors representing the inhabitants. The young men enacting the roles of warriors really seemed to BE Maori warriors rather than ACTING as Maori warriors during the Te Wero, or the initial challenge to the visiting group. |
Monika: We finally reached Rotorua on Lake Rotorua. Here is a large geothermal area, which we could smell as soon as we drove into the city. It is a resort city with beautiful old buildings. At the Maori center, we picked up our guide for our Maori encounter. During the short trip to the village, he explained what we could expect to happen. We would be treated like visitors were treated during the early 1800s. We nominated a chief who would lead us through the ceremony. When we arrived at the village, our chief stepped forward. He was challenged by three warriors, the last one put a fern leaf on the ground. When our chief picked up the leaf, it meant we came in peace. A woman now came forward to sanctify the area and we were allowed to enter the village. This ceremony, the weddell, was performed with great seriousness and we had been warned not to laugh or we would be challenged. It really felt more like a true re-enactment of an age-old ceremony than a show. |
Bob: After being accepted as visitors, we walked into the Marea or the recreated village where we saw several different types of artisans at work. I watched a young man carving a wooden drum and then watched a young woman weaving a net for catching birds over a wooden platform with feeding holes in it. We also took some pictures of the recreated houses, all of which featured a front porch like area enclosed on the sides and roof, together with a back room accessible through a small doorway. |
Monika: The village itself consisted of several houses were men and women were performing traditional tasks. At one point, one of our group was challenged to a agility games, where you had to step over small sticks as quickly as possible. When the Maori warrior did it you could see why it really helped the agility. It reminded me a little of a football team drill where the players have to step through a set of tires. |
Bob: We were then called to the Wharenui or the Big House or meeting house, where we were treated to Maori song and dance routines by all of the male and female Maoris of the Tamaki Village. In case you ever are invited to a real Maori meeting house, make sure to remove your shoes! We felt the quality of the dancing and singing was quite authentic and enjoyed every minute of the very different selections. Although the "haka" dance was clearly preparation for war dance with a great deal of posturing and bellicosity, other dances were very flowing, rhythmic, and melodic and reminded me very much of the Polynesian hula type dancing we had seen on our trip to the Hawaiian Islands. |
Monika: Finally conch shells were blown to call us to the meeting house for a performance of traditional Maori songs and dances, including the Haka the traditional Maori war dance and a rather beautiful ballad about two lovers that were divided by a lake. I really did enjoy the performance and took a couple of movies while Bob took the still pictures |
Bob: Our visit to the Tamaki Village ended with a hearty meal cooked in the Hangi or the traditional earth oven. Rocks are heated in a fire and then the ashes are removed and the rocks replaced with the layers of food placed on top and the whole shebang covered completely with dirt. Essentially the food is steam cooked in the earth oven with the layer of dirt holding in the steam and heat so you basically get a slow-cooked combination of meats and vegetables. I had the chicken and beef and a wide variety of vegetables including potatoes and sweet potatoes, and it was all very tasty indeed. In fact, the flavor rivaled the ship's cuisine which is saying a lot. We made a quick visit to the gift shop before leaving the village and I was very bad (fiscally speaking!). For Monika I bought a paua shell necklace that I thought was particularly pretty, for myself I bought a beautiful carved wooden letter opener with paua shell inlay, and for both of us I bought a plate brass Christmas tree ornament to hang with the others in our kitchen. Monika picked up a Maori warrior doll to add to her very eclectic doll collection, so she was happy also. |
Monika: After this came a traditional Maorin hangi, a meal of chicken and pig cooked in the ground. It was excellent and we all ate more than we should. During a short foray into the gift shop, I found a necklace of Paula shell, a shell unique to New Zealand, and a Maori warrior for my doll collection. Afterwards we had to leave this rather unique recreated village, but I can quite understand why this is an award winning tourist venture. |
Bob: On the way back to the ship our driver just pulled off at a roadside turnout for a moment where we could enjoy what I would call "mud pots". That is where volcanic steam rises through the earth, dissolves the rocks on the surface into kind of a gray sludge, and then bubbles up through the sludge. It's a lot more fun to watch than I just made it sound like, and I had a lot of fun trying to capture one of the bubbles in the act of popping and plopping back down into the mud. Continuing back to the ship, we took another quick jaunt through the town but once again there wasn't enough time to climb Mount Maunganui, which was a shame as I'm sure the views from the top are quite nice if not spectacular. But back on board, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset, had another nice dinner with our table mates, and then worked on our journal and read a bit before bed. |
Monika: We stopped in Rotorua to look at a couple of mud pots that were bubbling along. Our driver also pointed out the geyser that is inside the city. The hot springs are also supposed to be good for whatever ails you. Back at the ship we made one last foray into town for some more wine, but were disappointed that they did not have the stuff we like (medium red in a casket). So we just walked back to ship and collapsed. |
| Index |
| Prolog | Map of Cruise around New Zealand | Map of Drive through Victoria | Epilog |
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