Auckland Adventures

Hey there, everyone!

It's been quite awhile since I have been able to get to a computer that works! Even when I did get to a computer, every time I tried to blog to you, it froze up. Oh well. At least I am back online! My goal is to finish my trip blog before I see you back at school next week. I think I can do it!

So where were we? If you have been keeping up with our adventures, you know the next destination this blog is going to be about is New Zealand. New Zealand (or NZ for short) is a MUCH smaller country than Australia. It is made up of two islands, called the North and South Islands. It's about the size of the United Kingdom, that island that contains England, Wales, and Scotland. But get this- the United Kingdom has 60 million people on it. NZ only has 4 million. In the whole country. On both islands. And, of those 4 million, almost half live in Auckland, the biggest city. So, as you can imagine (or make an inference about), outside of that city and a few other largish sized cities, is a lot of countryside, with very few people. Outside of the few larger cities (and there aren't very many, friends), most people are spread out in small towns, and scattered villages. This leaves lots of open spaces along the coasts, in the mountains, in the valleys.

And what beautiful land it is, friends! So many different habitats, all of them gorgeous. But I will tell you more about that in another post. Let's start by talking about Auckland. Almost everyone who comes to New Zealand starts out in Auckland, the biggest city of close to 2 million people. Actually, Auckland is really made up of several smaller cities all mashed together to make one big one. It's kind of like how South Bend and Mishawaka smoosh up next to each other and make a bigger community, except Auckland's is MUCH bigger. Anyway, as you can see from the map, Auckland is on a narrow stretch of land on the North island, and is surrounded by water on either side. If you want to go anywhere north or south of the city, you have to drive right through the city. There's no way around. So, like most people, we started in Auckland too. We spent a few days there seeing the sites, before heading out into the smaller communities. Here's what we did:

1. Auckland Museum: We headed to this wonderful museum to learn a little more about the Maori culture, to get an introduction of sorts. See, the Maori people were the very first people who came to New Zealand over a thousand years ago. This means that they were the indigenous people of New Zealand. Indigenous means the first people who lived in a particular area of the world. Anyway, their ancestors were great explorers from the South Pacific area. It is believed they came from Tahiti, many, many miles away. They were great sailors and explored the islands of the Pacific in their magnificent, huge canoes. Eventually one of their ancestors came to New Zealand. They called the islands Aetearoa, the Land of the Long White Cloud, and soon other canoes of these travellers came to live in the new land as well. Their culture is related to the cultures of the South Pacific, which are called Polynesian cultures. But, since they have been in Aetearoa (New Zealand) for so long, their culture has changed and developed separately over time and it's rather different now from the other Polynesian cultures-though you can see some similarities. Anyway, we went to a culture show at the museum to see what we could learn. At the show, the performers told us something about their music and dances, and showed us a few of the more important ones. All of the dances developed out of special exercises and activities the Maori used to do to prepare to be good warriors. The Maori men were known as some of the fiercest and best fighters in the world. So, these simple activities and movements would be exercises to build their muscles, flexibility, eye/hand coordination, and strength in preparation for training as mighty warriors. Now that the Maori no longer fight battles with other tribes as in the old days, these exercises and activities have become dances to keep the old ways of their culture alive. The first dance has to do with poi. Poi are round white balls made of various firm (but not hard) materials and attached to long strings. The dancers swing the poi in certain patterns and rhythms to make different sounds and movements along with the music. Songs are usually sung at the same time, so the poi can make some of the sounds or rhythms of animals and objects that may be in the song. In the old days, only the men used poi, and they were not for dancing. They were used to increase the flexibility and strength of the wrist in preparation for using different weapons. Nowadays, both men and women use poi for dancing, but it is mostly used by the women. Sasha, my niece, and my friend Norma, who joined us to travel in NZ, got chosen to go onstage and try it. I've brought some poi home, so you all can give it a go, too!

Next, both long and short sticks were used to dance and move. These sticks were thrown in various ways and rhythms to other dancers who had to catch them and return them in rhythm. In the old days, these sticks were used to increase coordination and to learn defensive and offensive moves for battle. Lastly, we got to see the haka, one of the most famous dances of the Maori. During the haka, the men stomp their feet, slap their arms, legs, and chest while shouting great war chants in rhythm. They also make their eyes bulge out and stick their tongues out long and wide while making a growling, snarling noise between chants. You are probably wondering why in the world they would do that. Well, in the old days, when the men were about to go to war, they would do the haka to psych themselves up for battle, and to get their blood circulation moving through the stomping and slapping. The slapping would also prepare their skin for receiving blows in battle. Just as importantly, it would also be to scare and intimidate the enemy. Imagine hundreds of warriors, with weapons, standing before you, doing the haka. That would be pretty terrifying, believe me. Even the women would stand behind and do the haka, though they do it differently. They don't slap themselves, growl, or stomp their feet. They sway and shout and bulge their eyes, too. They also didn't fight.  It's a very ferocious looking thing, but magnificent to watch. Different Maori groups had different hakas, and nowadays, it is done to maintain the culture. But also....their most famous national sports team, the All-Blacks, does the haka before every game to intimidate and psych out their competitors, so it is really still used in one kind of competition.

Besides the haka, all the other things are done to music. The guitar was introduced into Maori culture when the Europeans came, and they use it to accompany them in their singing. Many of the songs tell famous stories of the culture, and some are just different songs expressing how people feel. They are sung in the Maori language. Maori is in the same language family as other Polynesian languages. It almost died out when the Europeans came, and sadly, in schools, children were not allowed to speak the language, or they would get in trouble. But a number of years ago that all changed, and the Maori language is now growing again, and it is taught in schools. There is even a television station in Maori.

After the culture show, we wandered around the museum and looked at various displays and artifacts (items that are collected to show about history or a culture) about the Maori. We saw a magnificent conch shell horn that was blown to gather the people together, a beautiful cloak that used to be worn for warmth in the old days, and an enormously long, beautifully carved canoe. All these things and more taught us something of Maori culture. I think, though, that it is important for you to know, that Maori live in much the same way as the other kiwis (that's the nickname for people who are from New Zealand, named after their national bird). They have the same kind of jobs, houses, clothes, etc., but they also try to keep some of the beliefs, customs, arts, and traditions of their ancestors alive. Some live more like their ancestors, some less, but they are all modern. It's kind of like how Native Americans live here. If you took 100 people in NZ, 15 of them would be Maori, so they are not the main people of the country any more...but their culture is everywhere, and all New Zealanders (kiwis) have some pride and appreciation for the culture. It is as if everyone has adopted some Maori-ness, so that's pretty cool.

2.Sky City: After the museum, we headed to Sky City, a giant entertainment center in Auckland. It is the tallest building in the country, and even in that part of the world, so you are supposed to be able to have beautiful views of the whole city and region from there. Unfortunately, it was raining that day, so it was pretty cloudy. But, to be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to go up in the tower anyway, since you had to ride a glass elevator all the way up, and the floor was glass, so you could see all the way down. That sounded pretty scary to me, and though I think you need to try things you are scared of, I wasn't sure about it. The main reason we went over there was for my niece to do something wild and extreme. She wanted to jump off the tower- from the top! You can do that there. They attach you to these kind of rope things on your jumping suit, and you simply jump off. No parachute or anything like that. It's kind of like bungy jumping, but you don't bounce, which can hurt your back. It's really more like sky diving. So here went Sasha. She went all the way to the top of this hundreds of feet high tower. Norma and I stood at the bottom where she would land, and watched. She was this tiny speck in the sky- then all of a sudden, here she came! It looked just like when someone jumps out of a plane. She came down, hair flying, looking like she was floating down from the sky at a fast pace. And she landed safely. Whew. She said that up there you just lean forward, and then let go, and down you fall. She has always wanted to be on a cloud and touch a cloud- well, that day she jumped right through a cloud! It was an amazing experience for her, and we enjoyed watching it too. Maybe one day I'll try it...but not any time soon! We decided to go to a special place to celebrate her successful jump, but first we stopped somewhere else on the way.

3.Champions of the World: While we were at Sky City, we saw these people wearing crazy black and white hats. We wondered what in the world was going on. Well, it turned out that that night there was going to be a BIG sports game: New Zealand, versus Australia. The game they were going to play was rugby. Have any of you heard of that? Well, it's kind of like football, except faster and rougher, with more ways you are allowed to pass and score. It's really fun to watch, and kind of crazy to play. You have to have a lot of skill and strength and flexibility to play. And they don't even wear pads, even though they tackle! Anyway, rugby is the most important, most watched, most famous, most loved game in New Zealand. Many people are obssessed with rugby, the way people are here about football, basketball, or baseball. Their national team is called the All-Blacks, and people are fiercely loyal to them. The All-Blacks is one of the best rugby teams in the world. As you can imagine, on game day, everyone gets all excited and riled up, just like people do here for a Notre Dame game. As we walked through the city, we noticed tons of people wearing All-Blacks shirts, hats, scarves (remember, it was cold there), outfits...you name it. So, we decided we wanted to have some All-Blacks stuff too, to cheer them on. Since rugby is such an important part of New Zealand culture, and fun to watch, we decided we would find a place that had a TV and watch the game too.We went to the Champions of the World store where the official All-Blacks stuff was, and got a few things. I am bringing them back for you to see. It was packed in there with fans buying things, and some even had black ferns on their faces. The fern is the national symbol of NZ, so it is also part of the All-Blacks logo. We headed out from there, ready to watch the game later.

4, Minus 5: Next, we headed out to Minus 5 to celebrate Sasha's jump, and to see something unusual. Remember students, when we read in our basals about the hotel in Sweden that was made completely of ice? Well, some people in NZ heard all about the Swedish ice hotels and decided they wanted to try something like that. So they made a place you can go get drinks and hang out that is also made completely of ice. It's a small place, but everything in there is made of ice, from the drink counter to the sofa, to the chandelier (a fancy thing you hang from your ceiling that is a kind of lamp with lights on it) to the walls. There are various ice sculptures in there that they change every few weeks. In order to go in there, you have to put on a giant heavy coat with a hood, and two pairs of gloves. Remember, it's negative 5 degrees in there, and that isn't minus 5 Fahrenheit, but minus 5 Celsius, which is WAY colder. You are also only allowed to stay in there 30 minutes, it's so cold. So Norma, Sasha and I bundled up and headed on in. It was magical, friends. The whole room was of ice, though if you wanted to sit on the ice sofa they did have a skin to sit on. I think it was a reindeer skin. When we ordered our drinks, they came in glasses....made totally of ice, too! You could lick your cups, and even munch on them after you finished your drink, if you wanted to. They only serve a few things in there to drink since most things will freeze quickly at that temperature. By the time we were about the leave, even the juice in our drinks was turning to slush! I wish you could have seen it. There were several kids in there while we were there, and I think they thought it was pretty amazing. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures in there, but they took a few that we could buy, so I can show you some of it. What a crazy and amazing place to be!

5. All-Blacks game: After our fun time at Minus 5, we headed back to the place we were staying, and put on some black and white clothes. My niece added the All-Blacks scarf she bought, and we headed out to find a place that had a TV. When we did, we squished in with all the other people who were watching the game. There were no seats left, and EVERYONE was staring at one of the big flat screens to watch. NZ and Australia are big rivals (that means they compete with each other more than with other people), so this was one important game.It was even more important, because this was for a trophy, the Tri-Nations cup. Once the game was going, it was really fast-paced. Rugby does not have quarters, and their half time is really short, so the action is almost continual, and there are no commericals. It was fun to watch with people who were really into it,since they clapped and cheered, and gasped and reacted to the things happening in the game. Happily for all of the people watching, the New Zealand All-Blacks beat the Australia Wallabies and won the cup! Everybody cheered and clapped at the end of the game, and as they received the trophy. Now the All-Blacks are headed to the World Rugby Cup in France. I wonder how they'll do. I hope I can find a channel to watch it, since it was really fun.

We finished this exciting day in Auckland by going to the Chocolate Cafe, where they served lots of drinks and desserts- all chocolate. And so our adventures in New Zealand started well, don't you think? In my next post, I will finish telling you about Auckland adventures before we head off into the countryside. Until then, go All-Blacks!