New Zealand School Experience

Kia ora, welcome.

I stayed with Jakki and Peter Tuhaka while I worked in the Ngunguru School. Jakki is the Associate Principal for the Junior grades and Peter is the school's caretaker so I was able to find out how the school ran inside and out! They were very gracious hosts and took very good care of me.

I was welcomed with a special ceremony called a powhiri (formal welcome). After all the students were seated, a local Maori woman led us into the room with a kauranga (a high-pitched call to the ancestors). Sonny, the local Maori leader and descendant of the leader who gifted the land to the school) gave mihimihi (greetings) in Maori. To reinforce the good wishes in the greetings, the students the sang traditional songs. After I was welcomed as one of them, I was asked to introduce myself. It was a very touching ceremony. If I was a male, we would have concluded with a hongi like in this picture, but since I am a woman, we shook hands and kissed in the European fashion. I didn't take pictures of this ceremony out of respect, but I have included some of the songs that the children sang later.

Rotorua

Can't do much on the computer today because I'm paying by the minute, situated in the lobby. I did already compose one new post this morning but it disappeared and said that I had made a "bad request." Hmmm.
Going to explore the area today. Rotorua is actually a crater formed from a volcanic eruption. In the afternoon I will go to the spa.
Lots of thermal activity underground and earth has a thin crust in this area. The place definitely smells like rotten eggs-Mengel, you'd love it.
I'll try to post again. Probably won't write again until I get with my host family on Sunday.

Rotorua

I have met such wonderful people. Of course many of them are tourists, too. Most of the Kiwis I have met have been very informed and extremely proud and happy to share their country and culture. I went to see some "authentic" Maori ceremonies last night and an evening viewing of some of their native animals.
I have some amazing pictures of last night, but I don't think I'll be able to post them from this location. I am staying at a quaint, old hotel with outdated power and plumbing. I have already blown the fuse 4 times and all I had on was the bathroom light, the tv, and the electric fireplace. I'm using the computer in the lobby, feeding it $2.00 coins periodically.
Today I will explore this area that is actually a crater created from a volcanic explosion and then I have a spa appointment. There's a lot of thermal activity around here. The earth's crust is very thin and the whole place smells of rotten eggs--Mengel, you'd love it!
Well, just a few minutes left on my account so I'll close an go to breakfast.
~Cindy

Abel Tasman

This morning I rode a bus from Nelson to Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand's smallest national park. It protects 23,000 hectares of the most natural stretch of easily accessible coastline in New Zealand.
Once there, I boarded the Vista. It had both open and
closed deck areas. However due to the torrential rains, we stayed
inside most of the time.



We cruised the magnificent Abel Tasman coastline north. Along the way we braved the rain to view the fascinating Tonga Island Seal Colony.They were much more impressive in person. We could see mothers and their pups swimming and playing in the water.




















We landed at Tonga Beach where an abandoned granite quarry site still holds evidence of this failed venture. I chose the 2hr 15min (5 kms, 3 miles) walk through a forested mountain and around the golden sands of Bark Bay Estuary. I've been walking a lot this summer in preparation for this trip, but the steep incline had me huffing and puffing. It was well worth the effort when I saw the cascading waterfalls through lush native forest.






Fortunately, my hotel room has a whirlpool tub so I had a nice, long soak to warm up when I returned. I love this hotel. Along with a room key, I was given a metal disk that must be inserted into a device just inside the door. It activates the power switches in the room. No disk, no power. Every home should have one. Think of all of the energy that alone would save.

I fly to Rotorua tomorrow morning, so I would love to wash a load of clothes tonight. No problem. I see that there's a section in the Guest Services folder about their washing and drying facilities. Wow! It's right at the far end of my hallway. For $2.00 NZ I can wash a load--and detergent is dispensed automatically. Talk about state-of-the-art. Then they continue describing the drying facility--An outdoor clothes line is located on the ground floor, north end of the Hotel. Please refrain from drying personal items on glass rails and terrace areas. Hmm. With all this rain, I don't think my clothes will dry too well.

Isn't it amazing? Some upscale communities in America outlaw clothes lines because they devalue the neighborhood. Really??

Nelson, NZ

This morning (Wednesday) I rode the Tranz Coastal train to Blenheim and then caught the bus to Nelson. During the train ride, the Kaikoura mountain ranges were on one side and the rugged Pacific Ocean coastline was on the other.

This is the way the day greeted us.








The train was perfect for viewing. The reclining seats were arranged around tables with large panoramic windows on the sides. There was also an open air viewing carriage for those who could withstand the cold air (or those who didn't have their coats stored in the luggage car). By the end of the 4 1/2 hour trip, we were all friends.


The mountains were truly majestic. In the other picture, you may be able to see one of the many fur seals if you look closely on the large rock at the top left of the picture.


The last 2 pictures show salt being extracted from Lake Grassmere. The lake is shallow and sheltered from the open sea by a barrier beach and sand dunes. Its high salinity, along with the warm prevailing winds makes it ideal for natural salt extraction. Nearly all of NZ's salt is made here. Up to 100,000 tons are made a year, depending on the summer.

Cara

Tuesday evening I had the opportunity to meet Cara Johnston, the teacher Joy worked with when she did her student teaching here in New Zealand. Cara and I met in the lobby and talked for a couple of hours. For the past 9 years she reviews the schools and helps them improve if necessary. I can understand why she and Joys have remained friends. She is delightful.

Akaroa, NZ

On Tuesday I went to Akaroa in hopes of swimming with some Hector's dolphins. We donned very attractive dry suits and boarded the Canterbury Cat. The plan was to cruise around until we saw a pod and hope that they would be curious enough about us that they would want to come and check us out. And guess what?! It did happen!
After we could tell that several dolphins were going to stick around, we got to enter the water. We were encouraged to hit "magic" rocks (yeah, right from the beach) together and make as much noise as we could to attract their curiosity. They came so close that I could have touched them if we would have been allowed.
Hector's dolphins are the smallest species in the world. They are also amongst the world's rarest dolphins, with a total population of about 7,500. Click here for more information including photos and video of the rare Hector's dolphins.
Another perfect day.