Tauranga & Rotorua, New Zealand
It is Thursday morning, February 1st. Yesterday we docked in Tauranga, NZ's second largest port. Tauranga is on the Bay of Plenty. The entrance by boat is dramatic because the first thing one sees is Mt. Maunganui, an imposing extinct volcano that helped shape this area which features gorgeous white-sand beaches and beautiful blue water. The Maori arrived here in the 13th century, followed by the British 600 years later. Tauranga is best known as the gateway to the bubbling mud pools and thermal fields of Rotorua. As usual, I like to begin with some photos of our arrival. We start with these views of sky and ocean when we first opened our curtains. Note the small bronze statue in the water at the entrance to the harbor. It represents Tangaroa, the Maori god of the sea whose role was (still is??) to protect the sea. Also, I can't resist watching the tugs as they help move the ship to its dock. Finally, a shot of a container ship just leaving as we were arriving, illustrating by its size the trading significance of this port.
For the first time on this cruise, Janis and I chose to go on separate excursions. I'll first detail mine and then she will do hers.
I picked "Geothermal Rotorua." The bus ride to Rotorua was about an hour and a half and took us through picturesque countryside. Here are some photos of the beach area as we began our drive out of Tauranga.
Once in Rotorua we arrived at the Te Puia Thermal Reserve that is owned and operated by a Maori tribe. What an impressive place. We were first treated to a traditional welcoming ceremony in a re-creation of a traditional Maori meeting house. We had witnessed similar ceremonies a few times earlier on the cruise, but this one was the most impressive so far. The first photo shows a Maori warrior running down the path to where we tourists were all gathered, first to determine if we were friend or foe and then to invite us into the meeting house.
At this reserve there is an area of silica terraces, pools of boiling mud and dramatic steam vents. There is a fairly strong smell of sulfer throughout the area. Here's a shot of one of the mud pools. The photo doesn't capture the fact that it was bubbling in a number of places.
Eventually we made our way to the Pohutu geyser where some of us lingered for about 30 minutes waiting for one of the three adjacent geysers to blow. We were not disappointed.
Following this, we visited the Maori Arts & Crafts Institute which is housed in a beautiful building on the same Reserve grounds. Here are a few photos showing people working at their various crafts and some of the crafts themselves, all very impressive.
After a delicious lunch, we headed back to Tauranga and the ship. I'll now turn this blog post over to Janis so she can describe her excursion experience and add some of her photos.
Janis:
My excursion focused on Maori Culture. I chose this excursion hoping to learn more about the Maoris who comprise 14% of the population of NZ. Though a minority, they are the indigenous people who first settled NZ and their presence is everywhere. Historically, they have been mistreated and taken advantage of. Early white settlers took large swaths of Maori land in exchange for less than fair market value payments. Not a new story. It is my sense that NZ people are still working through their guilt and acceptance of Maori people. The Art Gallery in Auckland prominently displayed a number of Maori-oriented pieces by NZ artists, both representational and symbolic, that seemed to reflect a grappling with history.
Back to the excursion. We visited a family marae, or gathering place, that is one of 10 marae within the Ngati Ranginui tribe in the township of Bethlehem in Tauranga. The tribe is one of three in Tauranga and lives on prime ocean-front property. (One of the other tribes resides in nearby Judea - the names reflect missionaries' success in converting Maoris to Christianity.) There is an elementary school on the property and the graduates attend an immersion high school in Bethlehem where the students speak only English during the school day. The implication is that the Maori language is spoken at home. This tribe also has its own cemetery, which, as noted, seemed to be unusual.
My group was prepped before arrival on the protocols we should adhere to for our visit, which was considered to be a Pohiri or formal welcoming ceremony. Upon arrival, women were to go to the front of the group and men to follow behind. Men but not women had to remove their hats. A volunteer male spokesman for the group was to stand at the front of the group to pick up a peace offering placed on the ground by an approaching local warrior. Once the offering was picked up, the iwi or tribe would know that the group comes in peace.
Next, an older woman dressed in black chanted a welcome to the group. The chant, or Karanga, called out to the ancestors of the visting party to join with the tribal ancestors. The chant was followed by a brief pause, a moment of silence to remember the dead.
After the chant, we took seats around the outdoor gathering place with the men designated to sit in the front and women behind. (I don't know why there were gender variations in positioning for different parts of the ceremony.) An elder tribesman delivered a speech or Whaikorero in Maori and translated it into English, welcoming us. After that, a few members of the tribe of all ages sang songs, or Waiata, to support the speaker.
Following the speech and songs, the group met with the tribe for a traditional greeting, or Hongi, in which the visitors touched noses and foreheads with members of the tribe. This is the most sacred, important and final part of the ceremony. It represents sharing life, peace and knowledge.
We moved to a community hall where we were treated to snacks and a singing and dance performance by young tribe members before adjouring to the meeting house. Some of us (myself included) were drafted to take part in the performance and instructed on the use of balls with ropes to twirl during the dancing.
In the meeting house, where we were required to enter without shoes, we learned more about the customs of the tribe. For example, the meeting house is the place for weddings and funerals in addition to the meeting place for tribal business. Funeral expenses are paid for by various tribal trusts (not clear if lawyers are used for drafting - I asked that question but the answer was ambiguous). Expenses include burial costs and food for the mourning family. The body of the deceased is covered with leaves to absorb the odor and is kept in the meeting house for 2 nights and 3 days while family and tribal members visit and pay respects. Family members often sleep in the meeting house with the body during the mouring period.
Following the gathering in the meeting house, our group said our good-byes and returned to our buses.
On the way back to the ship, we were treated to a tour of the countryside and learned about kiwi fruit, one of NZ's primary export products. I'll share two facts with you: (1) Kiwi was brought from China in the 19th Century by missionaries and was originally called Chinese Gooseberry. New Zealanders changed the name to reflect a more New Zealand word, that of the national bird, the kiwi. (2) Kiwi has more nutrients than any other fruit and more vitamin C than citrus fruits.
Back to David.
Soon after we returned to the ship, we were ready for the sailaway, the next port talk (about our scheduled stop in Napier), and the next onboard lecture, this one on the history of New Zealand, by one of the new group of lecturers who joined the cruise in Auckland and will be with us for the next six weeks. When possible, I like to watch the sailaways. Here are a few photos.
Our next destination: Napier, NZ (at noon today)
For the first time on this cruise, Janis and I chose to go on separate excursions. I'll first detail mine and then she will do hers.
I picked "Geothermal Rotorua." The bus ride to Rotorua was about an hour and a half and took us through picturesque countryside. Here are some photos of the beach area as we began our drive out of Tauranga.
Once in Rotorua we arrived at the Te Puia Thermal Reserve that is owned and operated by a Maori tribe. What an impressive place. We were first treated to a traditional welcoming ceremony in a re-creation of a traditional Maori meeting house. We had witnessed similar ceremonies a few times earlier on the cruise, but this one was the most impressive so far. The first photo shows a Maori warrior running down the path to where we tourists were all gathered, first to determine if we were friend or foe and then to invite us into the meeting house.
At this reserve there is an area of silica terraces, pools of boiling mud and dramatic steam vents. There is a fairly strong smell of sulfer throughout the area. Here's a shot of one of the mud pools. The photo doesn't capture the fact that it was bubbling in a number of places.
Eventually we made our way to the Pohutu geyser where some of us lingered for about 30 minutes waiting for one of the three adjacent geysers to blow. We were not disappointed.
Following this, we visited the Maori Arts & Crafts Institute which is housed in a beautiful building on the same Reserve grounds. Here are a few photos showing people working at their various crafts and some of the crafts themselves, all very impressive.
After a delicious lunch, we headed back to Tauranga and the ship. I'll now turn this blog post over to Janis so she can describe her excursion experience and add some of her photos.
Janis:
My excursion focused on Maori Culture. I chose this excursion hoping to learn more about the Maoris who comprise 14% of the population of NZ. Though a minority, they are the indigenous people who first settled NZ and their presence is everywhere. Historically, they have been mistreated and taken advantage of. Early white settlers took large swaths of Maori land in exchange for less than fair market value payments. Not a new story. It is my sense that NZ people are still working through their guilt and acceptance of Maori people. The Art Gallery in Auckland prominently displayed a number of Maori-oriented pieces by NZ artists, both representational and symbolic, that seemed to reflect a grappling with history.
Back to the excursion. We visited a family marae, or gathering place, that is one of 10 marae within the Ngati Ranginui tribe in the township of Bethlehem in Tauranga. The tribe is one of three in Tauranga and lives on prime ocean-front property. (One of the other tribes resides in nearby Judea - the names reflect missionaries' success in converting Maoris to Christianity.) There is an elementary school on the property and the graduates attend an immersion high school in Bethlehem where the students speak only English during the school day. The implication is that the Maori language is spoken at home. This tribe also has its own cemetery, which, as noted, seemed to be unusual.
My group was prepped before arrival on the protocols we should adhere to for our visit, which was considered to be a Pohiri or formal welcoming ceremony. Upon arrival, women were to go to the front of the group and men to follow behind. Men but not women had to remove their hats. A volunteer male spokesman for the group was to stand at the front of the group to pick up a peace offering placed on the ground by an approaching local warrior. Once the offering was picked up, the iwi or tribe would know that the group comes in peace.
Next, an older woman dressed in black chanted a welcome to the group. The chant, or Karanga, called out to the ancestors of the visting party to join with the tribal ancestors. The chant was followed by a brief pause, a moment of silence to remember the dead.
After the chant, we took seats around the outdoor gathering place with the men designated to sit in the front and women behind. (I don't know why there were gender variations in positioning for different parts of the ceremony.) An elder tribesman delivered a speech or Whaikorero in Maori and translated it into English, welcoming us. After that, a few members of the tribe of all ages sang songs, or Waiata, to support the speaker.
Following the speech and songs, the group met with the tribe for a traditional greeting, or Hongi, in which the visitors touched noses and foreheads with members of the tribe. This is the most sacred, important and final part of the ceremony. It represents sharing life, peace and knowledge.
We moved to a community hall where we were treated to snacks and a singing and dance performance by young tribe members before adjouring to the meeting house. Some of us (myself included) were drafted to take part in the performance and instructed on the use of balls with ropes to twirl during the dancing.
In the meeting house, where we were required to enter without shoes, we learned more about the customs of the tribe. For example, the meeting house is the place for weddings and funerals in addition to the meeting place for tribal business. Funeral expenses are paid for by various tribal trusts (not clear if lawyers are used for drafting - I asked that question but the answer was ambiguous). Expenses include burial costs and food for the mourning family. The body of the deceased is covered with leaves to absorb the odor and is kept in the meeting house for 2 nights and 3 days while family and tribal members visit and pay respects. Family members often sleep in the meeting house with the body during the mouring period.
Following the gathering in the meeting house, our group said our good-byes and returned to our buses.
On the way back to the ship, we were treated to a tour of the countryside and learned about kiwi fruit, one of NZ's primary export products. I'll share two facts with you: (1) Kiwi was brought from China in the 19th Century by missionaries and was originally called Chinese Gooseberry. New Zealanders changed the name to reflect a more New Zealand word, that of the national bird, the kiwi. (2) Kiwi has more nutrients than any other fruit and more vitamin C than citrus fruits.
Back to David.
Soon after we returned to the ship, we were ready for the sailaway, the next port talk (about our scheduled stop in Napier), and the next onboard lecture, this one on the history of New Zealand, by one of the new group of lecturers who joined the cruise in Auckland and will be with us for the next six weeks. When possible, I like to watch the sailaways. Here are a few photos.
Our next destination: Napier, NZ (at noon today)
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