We are flying up to the North Island today to spend a day in Rotorua. It's our 11th airport on this trip. We are so grateful for safe travels and easy connections. So far we have been on American, Qantas, Emirates, and New Zealand airlines with United yet to come!
It was a clear sunny day and I got to sit by the window on both legs of the journey. It was fun to see New Zealand from the sky's point of view. We went over farmland, forests, snow covered mountains, sea coast, islands...very fun and interesting.
Meet our Queenstown bus driver and our new friend Judith....
When we got close to Rotorua, we saw many fields organized in circles and triangles. I've never seen them before!
As soon as we arrived in town we went to a most enlightening place...to see Kiwi birds.
As far as I can tell they are the National Bird of New Zealand! In fact, residents of NZ are referred to as Kiwis!
We had a great introduction to the habitat, predators, eggs, birth, and life of a Kiwi. The pictures are all stuffed Kiwis....they did not let us take any pictures in the living room for the birds. They are protected and this place does a special work to help them through the birth process to see that they live and flourish. Over the years they have gone way down in numbers....like millions 200 years ago to 70,000 today. After the Kiwi are born and healthy they return them back into the wild where the eggs had been found.
The eggs are huge (400 grams) and take up 3/4 of the room in the mother bird. She lays 2 eggs about two weeks apart. And she does this about 6 times a year.
The father bird covers them during the incubation period.
There are five different species in New Zealand.
We all had more questions and wanted to stay longer but we had to check into the hotel and be ready for a special bus to pick us up at 5:30 for another very informative and interesting cultural experience with the Morai peoples at Tamkai Village.
The bus driver from the village came to pick us up and appointed a chief for our tribe for the evening. All the way there he taught us words, allowed us to ask questions, and introduced us to their way of life. They migrated to NZ from their motherland, Hawaii!!
There were about 5 groups at the meeting place, each with a chief who participated in an opening ceremony for the evening. Then the 5 groups were led to five different areas where we watched programs, had a talk or particated in a dance or game to learn about the Morai people and their culture. It was so well done with scenes built for each area. After 8-10 minutes we rotated and went to each of the areas.
This was the first event for our group...Cool, don't you think?
And here are more. They looked really neat in the dark. The paths were smooth and well lit.
I was in the front again and got caught in a demonstration . We had to swing a ball on a circle and catch it to the beat of the music! Challenging, to say the least. But kinda fun.
More dancing. Plus they stuck their long tongues out and wagged them just like the aboriginal tribe in the Outback of Australia!
All the men had to go in front for one demonstration...,
We (all five groups) ended up in a large assembly hall for a final dance time. They sang, danced, talked, and stuck their tongues out!
From there we all went to a large dining hall for another large meal. They cooked the meats, potatoes and vegetables in the ground under large wet mats. We were there when they uncovered the large bins. Very interesting and very tasty.
I had my new favorite Australian drink...Lemon Lime with Bitters !
There was a great dessert, too. The name of it started with a P but I didn't write it down...merengue with cream and a hot sauce on top. Very good!!
We sat with these folks and Gordon, our Chief!
There was another sort program after supper. A boys group from Melbourne was there for a two day overnight at the Village. They sang a song they had learned that earlier in the day.
A fun evening - a good time was had by all!!! We had the same bus driver on the way back to the hotel. He made each nationality on the bus sing a song from their country. Canada, US, AU, UK and NZ. Everything from America the Beautiful to Waltzing Matilda to Amazing Grace.
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