North Island - Middle Earth

Kiwi's are generally friendly - but customs tend to be a bit tough

We have arrived in Middle Earth.

It is a bit of a disappointment in that we have not, so far, seen any Elves, Hobbits, Dwarves, Dragons or Wizards.  On the other hand I am just as glad to have not seen any Goblins, Orcs or Trolls.  I think we saw a few fairies though.  

Everyone we have met on our journey has loved New Zealand.  Our Swedish friends, who we met in Cairns, loved New Zealand because, they said, there was nothing here that wanted to kill you.  It was an interesting perspective – but obviously they have not read their Tolkien.

But that does bring up an interesting thing about New Zealand.  Up until the arrival of humans here in about 1200 AD there were no mammals other than one little species of bat.  Every other animal was a bird, an insect or an occasional reptile.  They had huge birds called the Moa that was like a Costco sized Ostrich all the way down to the famous Kiwi bird that looks like a large Kiwi fruit with legs. (An American tourist we met thought Kiwi birds ate Kiwi fruit…) Basically the birds owned New Zealand.

Humans arrived and brought with us our best friend and companion - the rat.  Life changed for the birds.  Humans hunted them and the rats ate their food.  Then the white man showed up and brought all our other mammalian buddies like the cat, dog, rabbit, sheep, goat, cow, pig and a few groupie animals like the possum, weasel, and stoat.  The Moa is extinct and the Kiwi bird is close to it.  There are almost 4 times as many sheep in New Zealand as there are people and the forests here are filled with trees imported from California.  The Moa, if he ever returned, would not recognize his old home.

I think Kerstin, our Swedish friend, got it wrong.  There are lots of things here that want to kill us, they just don’t know how.

Kiwis practice an interesting version of forestry.   I think of it as invasive forestry.  Prior to the arrival of Maori New Zealand was covered in forest.  When the white man arrived about 400 years later there was more open space but still a lot of bush.  After the Second World War New Zealand had an excess of able-bodied, if somewhat traumatized, men.  What to do with them?  Get them to plant trees!   They imported Monterey Pines from California and sent these poor blokes off into the hinterland to plant them.  The pine loved New Zealand’s soil and constant temperatures and grew like mad.  The forest industry was born!  There are huge forests of these Monterey Pines everywhere all laid out in concentric lines crowding out the native plants and the native species that depend on them. 

Then they clear-cut them.

Another thing they imported to New Zealand was deer from Canada.  However, these deer are not wild - they are farmed. I cannot imagine the destruction those deer would have on the forests if they got loose.  It would be like releasing thousands of Canadians into a pub after the owner has left.

Auckland is a nice city.  I am not exactly sure what it is about Auckland that makes it feel nice – it looks pretty much like any other city.   It is more expensive than most.  Not as pricey as Australia – but certainly more expensive than home.  To ameliorate that, the Kiwi dollar is worth about 82 cents Canadian.  There is a laid-back atmosphere in Auckland – you don’t have Suits rushing around with their teeth clenched or car-drivers waving their fists as they curse the drivers in front of them who are doing the same.  People move at a more sedate pace (not as sedate as Bali!) with smiles on their faces and a sense of friendliness about them.

You cannot talk about New Zealand without mentioning volcanoes. Auckland is surrounded by 13 volcanic cones.  Tau Po is on the shores of Great Lake Tau Po that is actually a lake that has formed in the mouth of an extinct volcano.  Rotorua, which is built in the crater of a volcano, is still smoking. Napier is a town that was devastated by a major earthquake in 1932 and rebuilt and we all know about the earthquake that leveled Christchurch.  Yet they say New Zealand is one of the most stable countries in the world… New Zealand has it’s own “ring of fire” and not the type that you put the toilet paper into the freezer for. 

We did get into hot water in Rotorua

 After Auckland we took the bus to Rotorua.  Rotorua is known for two main things:  geothermal activity and Maoris.  Rotorua is situated in the mouth of a volcano and just beneath the city is a huge mass of hot rocks that heats up the water that runs over it.  Essentially it is sitting on a massive hot spring.  This gives the city a certain air.  It is like living in Nanaimo when the wind is blowing from Harmac.  Except, there is no pulp mill. They have a park where there are holes in the ground with steam billowing out.  One area of town is a huge mud hole with super-heated steam bubbling out and a geyser next door.  The nice thing about this hot spring is that people use it to heat their homes and their water.  It makes me nervous to think that beneath the supposedly solid ground I am walking on is a river of super-heated steam.  The fact that the ground could collapse under me and I could end up in really hot water is a little too much like being back at work.

We went to a presentation given by the local Maori tribe.  Granted, it was meant for tourists but it still gave us some information about the Maoris.  As far as indigenous people go the Maori are doing a whole lot better than the Australian Aborigines and the North American First Nations.  That is not to say that there are no conflicts but I think there is considerably less suppression and resentment.  The presentation showed us a typical Maori village, Maori weapons, Maori dances and fed us traditional Maori food such as lamb, chicken, scalloped potatoes and trifle.  OK, I think they may have modified the food slightly to fit with northern appetites. 

Telen and her friend giving a "Welcome" face..

They ended the show with a Haka.  I had to go have a little lay-down after that. 

The Haka is a Maori war dance.  Personally, if I was going to war against some Maoris, and they did a Haka at me  - I would quickly become very keen on negotiation.  When the men make the scary faces with the bulging eyes and the tongue sticking out it is frightening but when the women do it – it is bowel loosening.

After Rotorua we went to Tau Po, which is on the shores of Lake Tau Po.  Lake Tau Po is actually a volcanic crater filled with water.  It reminds me a great deal of the Okanogan minus the mountains plus a volcano.   So far most of New Zealand reminds me of the Okanogan – rolling hills, warm weather, fertile land and sheep.  Except the Okanogan does not have sheep.  Everywhere you look in New Zealand there are sheep.  It’s like New Zealand has a flaky skin disorder.

After Tau Po we arrived in Napier.  Napier has three claims to fame: the Art Deco buildings, the consistent mild climate and the wineries.  The Art Deco buildings were built after the earthquake of 1932 when they reconstructed the city.  A lot of the area of Napier that were under water in 1932 suddenly became above water after the earthquake.  The land lifted up almost three meters.  Islands became hills and sea bottom became neighbourhoods.  They rebuilt in fashion of the times – which means Art Deco. 

On the Art-Deco streets of  Napier

The consistent mild climate and the volcanic soil make the area ideal for growing grapes.  Grapes means wine.  So we went on a wine tour.  Odd choice for two people who don’t drink.  It was interesting to taste the different wines but after a few wineries they all start to blend together and we could not remember which was which.  Ok, you wine snobs are probably sneering at this affront to the divine art of wine tasting but I don’t care.  I never claimed to be cultured and I cannot tell all the different smells in a glass of wine – they all smell like rotten grapes to me. I know, I know – not only do I look like a Neanderthal but I act like one too.  You are not saying anything that has not been said to me before.

Wine Tasting in Napier

After six hours on the bus we arrived in Wellington.  Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and looks a bit like the love child of San Francisco and Victoria.  It too seems to be built on new land that was conveniently thrown up by an earthquake in the late 1800s. It is built on lots of hills and looks very clean and shiny.  In spite of the hills we have seen many cyclists and runners here.  It does my heart good (metaphorically) to see all these people out exercising.  Kiwis generally seem to be in good shape.  Their lifestyle seems to help that.  They work at their own pace and don’t seem to be as stressed as us Canadians.  We noticed that at lunchtime people were out for a jog or a bike ride.  Nice to have that amount of time available mid-day.  Personally I think it is a great idea.

Above the streets of Wellington

So, we have arrived at the south end of the North Island and tomorrow we arrive at the north end of the South Island. 

And they call this Middle Earth?

Arriving at the North End of the South Island

Telen Writes:

We have been in the North Island of New Zealand for almost 2 weeks now.  I have learnt to distinguish different kinds of “Kiwis”.  A kiwi can be referred to a person born and bred in New Zealand, or, a hairy roundish nocturnal flightless bird with a long narrow beak native to New Zealand or the brown hairy fruit with the green interior.

The kiwis that we have met are generally friendly, low key and with a quirky sense of humor.  We have been travelling by coaches and buses.  We really enjoy “people watching” along with the beautiful scenery along the way.  The landscape in North Island resembles the Okanagan/Kamloops with rolling hills.  The difference is the evidence of volcanic activities from long ago, the hot springs and the boiling mud.

Everywhere we have been is tidy and clean.  When we arrived yesterday in Nelson in the South Island, our bus shuttle driver, Brian, gave us an impromptu tour of the area enroute to our motel.  Nelson is a town of 45,000 with a touch of Salt Springs Island.  It seems to attract artists and craftsmen along with outdoors enthusiasts.  He said apologetically that graffiti vandalism is a bit of a problem here as he pointed to a door of a wooden house.  Someone had painted a heart shaped graffiti on the door.  That was their big crime!

People’s lives here seem stable, tranquil.  May be that is why there are bungee jumping, parasailing, paragliding, sky diving, zip lining and jet skiing offered everywhere we go.  The kiwis seem to like the adrenalin rush from engaging in the act of jumping from great heights or flying through air at high speed.  Lives can become boring otherwise.  My take home message: do something outside of one’s comfort zone once in a while and enjoy the experience.