Day 6 – December 30:
Two activities planned today in Rotorua; a cultural experience at the Māori Arts and Craft Institute, Te Puia, and an evening hike in the tree tops of the Redwoods! The cultural experience was great. Like everywhere else in this world, the native population has been at constant odds with the country’s government. Here, at Te Puia, the Māori people have built up a center to share their culture and educate in the Arts of the people. The center is also built within the sulfur springs and mudflats of the area with geysers erupting like clock-work. We saw wood carving, stone work, and weaving demonstrations along with a Māori “Welcome” ceremony. Also, there was one of only a few Kiwi Conservation centers on-site so we got to see our first Kiwi. Cool birds which are all but impossible to see in the wild (because they are nocturnal and scarce). It was a good experience for all.
We had a big gap before the next activity so we got lunch and headed to the hotel for a swim/nap break. But, as good plans go, we got some heart-breaking news from home. Katy’s mom, Kay, had suffered a major stroke and was likely not going to recover. This is obviously devastating news to get when we are 8,000 miles away (and not even half way through the trip). But, Katy has dealt with it well and we are all trying to support her. She is in touch with her family and no one for even a second expected her to come home (Kay especially). This will change the tone of our trip some, but only in that we will be thinking of Kay and honoring her along the way.
To help move us along, we decided to go to a grocery store and do some retail therapy. Shopping in foreign grocery stores is a lot of fun. We got snacks and treats for a picnic (a Kay favorite) ahead of our Redwood hike. Turns out, we had this picnic right in front of our Redwood canopy experience. The Redwoods of New Zealand are super impressive and look a lot like those of California. No accident really as that is where the Redwoods here came from. As it turns out, and this is not great, almost everything in New Zealand came from somewhere else. Its original flora (plentiful) and fauna (very few) have mostly been wiped out by other flora and fauna introduced to NZ by the Europeans. The good news is that the past few decades and the decades to come have seen an intense effort to bring back the original biosphere. Anyway, back to the Redwoods. This is a night hike along suspension bridges carefully hung amongst the canopies of the trees with lights decorating the forest along the way. The sign at the beginning indicated that this hike was “amongst the best canopy hikes in New Zealand”. What? So, I guess like there are lots of these? In any case, it was incredible. Magical, wonderous, amazing. After getting done around 10pm, we headed to the hotel to pack up for the next day’s flight. Instead, because of a spontaneous ceiling leak, we had to pack up everything and move rooms. That’s fine, saved us time in the morning. So concluded a very busy, amazing, insightful and heart wrenching day.
New Zealand Day 7
Two activities planned today in Rotorua; a cultural experience at the Māori Arts and Craft Institute, Te Puia, and an evening hike in the tree tops of the Redwoods! The cultural experience was great. Like everywhere else in this world, the native population has been at constant odds with the country’s government. Here, at Te Puia, the Māori people have built up a center to share their culture and educate in the Arts of the people. The center is also built within the sulfur springs and mudflats of the area with geysers erupting like clock-work. We saw wood carving, stone work, and weaving demonstrations along with a Māori “Welcome” ceremony. Also, there was one of only a few Kiwi Conservation centers on-site so we got to see our first Kiwi. Cool birds which are all but impossible to see in the wild (because they are nocturnal and scarce). It was a good experience for all.
We had a big gap before the next activity so we got lunch and headed to the hotel for a swim/nap break. But, as good plans go, we got some heart-breaking news from home. Katy’s mom, Kay, had suffered a major stroke and was likely not going to recover. This is obviously devastating news to get when we are 8,000 miles away (and not even half way through the trip). But, Katy has dealt with it well and we are all trying to support her. She is in touch with her family and no one for even a second expected her to come home (Kay especially). This will change the tone of our trip some, but only in that we will be thinking of Kay and honoring her along the way.
To help move us along, we decided to go to a grocery store and do some retail therapy. Shopping in foreign grocery stores is a lot of fun. We got snacks and treats for a picnic (a Kay favorite) ahead of our Redwood hike. Turns out, we had this picnic right in front of our Redwood canopy experience. The Redwoods of New Zealand are super impressive and look a lot like those of California. No accident really as that is where the Redwoods here came from. As it turns out, and this is not great, almost everything in New Zealand came from somewhere else. Its original flora (plentiful) and fauna (very few) have mostly been wiped out by other flora and fauna introduced to NZ by the Europeans. The good news is that the past few decades and the decades to come have seen an intense effort to bring back the original biosphere. Anyway, back to the Redwoods. This is a night hike along suspension bridges carefully hung amongst the canopies of the trees with lights decorating the forest along the way. The sign at the beginning indicated that this hike was “amongst the best canopy hikes in New Zealand”. What? So, I guess like there are lots of these? In any case, it was incredible. Magical, wonderous, amazing. After getting done around 10pm, we headed to the hotel to pack up for the next day’s flight. Instead, because of a spontaneous ceiling leak, we had to pack up everything and move rooms. That’s fine, saved us time in the morning. So concluded a very busy, amazing, insightful and heart wrenching day.
New Zealand Day 7
