April 26th, New Zealand Day 11

Unfortunately, the tour allowed us no more time in Wellington; I would really liked to have spent an extra day exploring the Kiwi capital, but the road was calling. Again, beginning in the morning, we set out to cover about half of the distance of the North Island to the hot spring center of Rotorua (ROH-toh-roo-ah).

I suppose it is here that I can talk of Kiwi culture, such as I observed it. From what I could see, they do not have any outlandish customs or traditions, except perhaps an unnatural attachment to their sheep. Needless to say, most jokes concerning Aotearoans involve them and their sheep. One unusual thing about New Zealand speech is that they tend to take one syllable of a word and double it. For example, our bus driver used the word "momos", or simply "mos", instead of "moments" or "brekkie-brekkie" instead of "breakfast". He also once used "kehykehys" for "kilometers". And in case anyone is wondering, New Zealanders have a distinct accent from Australians though it was hard for me to hear it on younger Kiwis. When I listen to either Sam Neill (Dr. Grant from Jurassic Park) or Lucy Lawless (Xena), both native New Zealanders, speak, I can tell straight away that they are not Australians but in younger New Zealanders, the accent has become very close to Australian. New Zealanders like Australians use the word "mate" for "friend" and "shout" to indicate that it's your turn to buy a round at the bar. Perhaps the most internationally recognizable aspect of Kiwi culture is the haka, that I mentioned before; to them, there can be no greater expression of their cultural heritage.

As we drove out of Wellington we passed an island known as Kapiti (KAH-pee-tee) Island which is the birthplace of the haka. According to the story, a Maori chief was visiting the island when some of his enemies attacked and he was forced to hide in something like a cellar. Eventually his allies fought them off and freed the hiding chief. The thankful chief then did a dance which became the haka. It also explains the origins of the first words of the dance which, translated, are, "It is Death! It is Death!/It is Life! It is Life!" as the Maori chief first thought that those freeing him were his enemies and that he would perish at their hands but then he realized that he had been saved. I think it is ironic that this intimidating war dance actually arose from an act of cowardice; but perhaps I'm being too harsh. Now, there are several types of haka, though usually with the same words, but different hand actions.

Traveling further north, we eventually found ourselves in the Tongariro National Park, home of 3 famous mountains: the eponymous Tongariro (TOHN-gah-ree-roh), Ngauruhoe (NGAW-roo-hoh-weh) and the tallest, Ruapehu (ROO-ah-peh-hoo). When I first saw it from a distance, its snowy slopes looked bizarre and I couldn't make out what it was but then I realized that it was a mountain almost completely covered in snow. Ruapehu was used as Orodruin (oh-ROH-droo-EEN), Mount Doom, in The Lord of the Rings. On this day, the clouds were low and their movements around the summit of Ruapehu really gave it a terrifying look but the other side from the one I photographed was used for the movies. Also, I felt quite at home here as there was snow right by the road. The 3 mountains I listed are all volcanoes, which are only present on the North Island. Even though the South Island is on the subduction zone between the Australian and Pacific plates, the only volcanoes are to be found on the North Island.

Continuing north we stopped at Taupo (TAW-poh), on the shores of Lake Taupo. Lake Taupo is a water-filled crater from a massive eruption many centuries ago. North of Lake Taupo, we stopped at the very impressive Aratiatia (AH-rah-tee-ah-tee-ah) Rapids.

Upon arriving in Rotorua, we where quickly escorted to a cablecar which took us to the top of a nearby mountain, which gave not only a great view of Rotorua but also we got to take 2 luge rides down a track. It is essentially go-carts, without the motors, that you control as you speed down the cement track. We concluded that activity at sunset and then proceeded to our hotel. Upon exiting the bus, it was easy to smell the sulfur in the air, caused by the hot springs in the area. After dinner, I took a few minutes on the trampoline which the hotel had at its disposal and thus ended my day.

Photos are now available at: http://newzealandday11.blogspot.com/