Sunday the day of... KIWI!!!

Sunday morning when we woke up and had brekkie down in kitchen of our backpackers stay. I'm finding that I really wouldn't mind being a backpacker the joints that they get to stay in a sweet as! Next we were off for some geothermal activity and other nonsense, but not until we had had our tea. Tea is pretty much the staple to life over here, you don't work, you don't smile, you don't exist without first have a nice hot cuppa tea! When we got into town we noticed a market was open and since none of the church services were going at the time we decided to do church in a much different way. We grabbed our teas and headed out into the market. Aunty Jane and I stuck together (I'm not much of a good loner, especially in market places) and Sonia and Aunty Jill went off in different directions. The morning was about appreciating what God had given us, the diversity of the people, the beauty of their works, and the nice prices on souveniers! just joking...well sort of. I found a few things to add my New Zealand apparel collection. I love market places, I find that the hustled and bustle of everyone around me is quite peaceful really. Such diversity in such a small place, it was fantastic. Lunch was eating oceanside, we had pies. For those of you who think like I do, that sounds extremely exciting and just a hint of odd, but pies aren't really pies, well they are but they were meat pies. Really good meat pies with veggies! They were similar our "pot pies" (which are my favorite food in the states) but not quite the same. Very good nonetheless.

With lunch in our tummies we were off to see some goodlooking thermal activity. The first thing I got to see was boiling mud. Doesn't sound interesting at all, and it's quite understandable but up face to face with this smelly, disgusting bubbling matter.. it's actually quite cool. I kept referring to it as Jabba the Hut. If you've ever seen Star Wars you'd understand my reference. If not, well Jabba is this disgusting glob of.. who knows what. Anyway ( I get off subject easily) the mud boils and spit out more boiling mud. It's like watchin a big pot of potato soup cooking on the stove top. oh and the smell.. hahah.. the smell never really leaves you. It floats in your subconcious. The mud smelled like... boiling.. eggy... yuck. But other than that it was really cool to watch the mud launch into the air. It was the larget thermal mud pool in New Zealand. All the trees around the mud pool were white from the effects of the ash and the dirt on the ground was so smooth between my fingers... almost like baby powder! AND OFCOURSE.. there was a cache near by. After finding their cache we were back in the car to see what I was really looking forward to!!! It was a 15 mile hike up the mountain various turns and slopes but eventually we made it. The path began to level infront of me and I knew we were close the viewing area. Just as I came over the last incline of dirt there it was in all it's glory. (bet you wanna know what it was dontcha?) A magnificent pool of terquouis and emerald water, serenely just existing in it's only little valley. I've never like the turqoiuse jewelry that was once such a big fashion statement but this I LOVED. The water didn't appear to be just water it was a foreign pool amongst the beauty of mountains. Like an alien space ship had a leaking valve and it's energy source had been left for us humans to just stare at in amazement. I wanted so badly to climb down the mountain walls that hid this small oasis, to swim in water the color of tranquility. I think an "oh wow..." escaped my lips the first time my eyes set sight on it. This please Aunty Jill and Aunty Jane, I suppose they thought I would find the "nature stuff" boring. I didn't ogle at the mud... it did not contain such mystery such intrigue but this, this did. I attempted to catch the pool's beauty with photographs but nothing could capture something so wonderfully out of place. I gave up quickly realizing that some of God's wonders must be seen with the eye to appreciate. The hike down was enjoyable with Aunty Jill rambling on about The Lord of the Rings. I giggled to myself realizing that we all have geeky tendencies.
A quick trip back to the hostel to change clothes and the bus was already waiting for us.
A nice Maori man was driving the bus trying his best to fill his visitors with information of Maori tribes and customs. Many of which I'm sure went over the heads the germans sitting closest to him. I caught little bits but was distracted by the very uncomfortable stuffy heat that surrounded us in the back seat. We were on our way to a Mai Thai, which is a maori festival of sorts with a buffet of food and a show before. We were seated with our German friends from the van. Their accents reminded me of my foreign exchange student/sister from Germany. I couldn't help but strike up a conversation with one the them. We were interrupted by the speaker of the night who began the evening by addressing all the nationalities in the room, in their own language. I belive there were 12 different countries gathered all in one tented dining room, so to know all the greetings was very impressive. We were led to the hungi, which is an underground way of cooking meals in the maori tribes. He unveiled all the wonderfully smelling food including chicken, lamb, pototoes, sweet potatoes, and all sorts of veggies while reminding us we wouldn't be eating for another hour. It was quite cruel to my already growling stomache but still funny. Next we followed a path way that led half the group to one side of a river and the other half to the parrallel side. A waka (similar to a canoe) filled with maori natives then came down the stream. They chanted as they rowed. From my experience in the kayaks I know how much of a pain rowing can be but they seemed to just glide across the water like as if the waka was a puck on an air hocky table. So effortlessly they came and went up and down the river for us, tourists, to gawk at them and blind them with the flashes of our cameras.

The path then led us to a stage of sorts, looking like something you would find in Walt Disney World as a Pocohontas set up or something. Then the show began, first with a demonstration of a welcoming from the chief of the tribe and then with a haka, a warrior dance to intimidate it's competition, and a demonstration of the art of their musical instruments and tools. I couldn't take my eyes of the people. They moved so, so swiftly but almost like a dance in every motion they did. Their muscles drew attention to their numerous tattoos. Each proudly wore a moko which is a tattoo on the chin, which means they have earned some kind of honor in their tribe (men and woman both wore these). The tattoos were explained to be the shapes of owls, kiwi birds, and bats. Each had it's own meaning but I can't recall them all know. Then it was eating time!!!!!! The buffet was beautiful loaded with all kinds of goodies. We all loaded our plates and enjoyed a nice meal with our German friends and an Italian guy at the end of our table. Cross-cultural conversations at a cultural experience.. how ironic!

Now for my favorite part of the night... A kiwi encounter. The tour was led by a young maori man who pointed out various wild life and animal life( such as kuikeas, rainbow fish, fingerlings,and pigs) around their land but led to a fenced in area where we were to see... the kiwi bird. A path led through the area I followed the small moving que that formed. Elevated ground surrounded us and the movement of plants could be heard accompanied by the slight sound of kiwi feet. Everyone huddled around different areas trying to scope of the kiwi bird. I found on that seemed to be pacing along the back wall, he seemed to be panicing. I would too if I were surrouned by humans with only a three and a half foot barrier seperating us! I was dragged away from my repetitive friend to a kiwi bird that was running back and forth right along the barrier. I should say it because I dont know if it was a female or not. It was absolutely magnificent, it's legs were short and caused it to run with a waddle and it's round little bottom was absolutely adorable in the darkness of our setting. I was lucky enough to watch as the kiwi bird sent a call out the the others, it's head tilted all the way back and a high pitched squeal almost escaped it's beack. Multiple times it called the others, it's open beack luminated by the light from outside us. I must have stood there watching the same kiwi for a good 10 minutes as it returned to it's back and forth running only inches away from myself. It stopped quite a few times infront of me, it seemed more comfortable and at ease here but another observer would shift their weight and the long dark shadow would frighten the kiwi bird and off it went. I think that had to have been the most amazing part of my visit here. The kiwi are growing extinct with only 40,000 wild kiwis at large and I saw one. I was literally inches from it!!!! The adrenaline rush that came from the moment carried me through the rest of the night and to my dreams.

The only thing that ran through my head was the scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when the very spoield Veruca says "I want an oompa loompa now daddy!!!" I could only imagine how the bad egg would react to an encounter with the rare but entirely adorable kiwi bird...