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About New Zealand

9/29/2017

 
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Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest point of New Zealand, at 12,300 feet
New Zealand consists of two main islands (The North and the South) plus some smaller offshore isles  It is about 100,000 square miles, about the size of Colorado.  It has approximately 4.5 million people, about the number in the Phoenix metro area.  The population is 70% European, 14% Maori, 11% Asian and 8% Pacific Islander.  Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is mainly derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening arising from increased immigration. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, with English predominant.

The South Island is divided along its length by the Southern Alps. The Fjordland's steep mountains and deep fjords record the extensive ice age glaciation of its south-western corner. The North Island is less mountainous but its geography is marked by ancient volcanic activity.
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Sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Maori culture.  They found the land very different from their homelands:  cool temperate rain forests, snow-frosted mountain peaks, aquamarine lakes and spurting geysers.  Perhaps the greatest benefit was the animals they encountered.  There were no indigenous mammals except a few small bats, but there were many tasty birds, many o them flightless ​ and early prey.
The moa, a large flightless bird, had no fear of humans.  It quickly became a source of food, supplementing the agricultural products they brought with them.  Prior to the Maoris arrival the moa's only predictor was a large eagle which attacked from the air.  The moa's defense was to stand perfectly still and take advantage of it's natural camouflage to protect itself from the eagle seeing it.  As you might imagine, that defense didn't work well with the Maoris and they quickly became extinct.
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Villages sprang up and the arts began to flourish:  wood carvers, medicine men, and tattooists, were employed by people who no longer had to spend all their time hunting and gathering food.  As the population increased competition for farmland cause warfare to break out between the tribes.  Thus the Maori became a nation of warriors.
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In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to sight New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of Britain and Maori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi.  In the English-language version, the treaty granted the Maori land rights and the right of British citizenship in exchange for ceding the sovereignty of New Zealand to the British crown. In the Maori-language version, the word for sovereignty was weaker, suggesting governorship or the right to make the first offer on land for sale rather than ownership. The result was marginalization of the Maori and a controversy that continues to this day.
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Signing the Treaty of Waitangi
In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire and in 1907 it became a Dominion. ​
​Politically, New Zealand has been in the forefront of social welfare legislation for over a century.  It was the world's first country to grant women the right to vote.  It adopted old age pensions (1898) national child welfare program (1907), social security (1938) and socialized medicine (1941).
The 1970's demand for recognition and participation in economic prosperity resulted in a revival of Maori culture.  In 1985, the Treaty of Waitangi was amended to include claims dating back to the original signing of the treaty. Financial reparations were made to several Maori tribes whose lands were unjustly confiscated.
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Queenstown - Finally!

9/27/2017

 
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Sunday our itinerary called for us to fly to Queenstown with a stop over in Auckland.  Queenstown is known as the “adventure capital of the world,” attracting skiers, white-water rafters, and other thrillseekers who are drawn to its rapids and peaks.
​

Our flight came bumping in over the mountains and our pilot entered the flight path for landing.  Then suddenly the plane plunged, fishtailed, and bumped uncontrollably.  The pilot applied full throttle and aborted the landing.  Conditions were such we had to land in Christchurch.  We spent an hour or so in the airport rebooking flights and making sleeping arrangements.  
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Tim rebooking our flights
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Us, waiting patiently and hoping he found suitable accommodations. He did - we had a beautiful hotel, lovely dinner and wine!
We'd been pretty well traumatized, but this amazing group of travelers true to our "travel style", took it with an "this stuff happens when we travel" attitude.
Travel Our World travelers are NOT...
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Complainers
Once again we proved they are...
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Flexible and go with the flow

​






​and
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have a spirit of adventure
PictureDave's photo of Lake Wakatipu at Queenstown
We finally arrived at Queenstown (routed through Auckland again) on Monday.  We spent the remainder of the day enjoying this beautiful resort town and the surrounding mountains.  That evening we collapsed in our beds for a much needed sleep.

Tuesday we boarded the bus for Milford Sound.  The natural beauty of the drive and the fjord from the boat took our breaths away.  It rained while we were driving there and back but the sun broke through while we were in the water resulting in beautiful lighting for our photographers.  Most of us think this day may be the highlight of the trip.
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One of Mel's photos of Millford Sound. Since the deep valley is glacial cut, it is officially a fjord rather than a sound.
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Scott and John preparing to board
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Ken, Margaret, Tim and Debbie at the front of the boat under the waterfall
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Jerom and Tim "frolicking" in the meadow.
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Did I mention our travelers are "fun loving"?

Rotorua - 2

9/26/2017

 
Rotorua is often called a thermal wonderland because of its volcanic activity. The region comes with with bubbling mud pools, geothermal geysers, and steam vents—a place.  After breakfast, we visited the Waimangu Volcanic Valley. This relatively young geothermal site was created by nearby Mount Tarawera’s last eruption in 1886. We took a leisurely hike, descending into the lush valley of green vegetation, pink silica terraces, and blue waters. We observed the Inferno Crater, filled with brilliant turquoise water, and Frying Pan Lake, the world’s largest hot spring.

Later we had a cruise of Lake Rotomahana, where our captain explained more about the history of Rotorua and showed us more geothermal sites that aren’t accessible by land.
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Ray, Gary, Mary, Linda and Erlene (9/13 departure)
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Geyser
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Mel and Lyn
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Mud Pool
That afternoon some returned to the hotel, others toured the town gardens and some of us enjoyed a New Zealand adventure - Zip Lining!  We climbed, we zipped, we crossed hanging bridges (with and without hand rails)!  We faced our fears and completed the circuit.  It was quite an afternoon.

On one pass, the leader failed to catch Dave at the end of his run, so he reversed to the center of the cable where he hung until the "catcher" went out to bring him back.  Click this link to watch the Rescue.
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Dave
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Getting ready for our next cable ride
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Debbie takes the dare to "trust the cable"
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Happy adventurers Margaret, Ken, Dave, Debbie, Pat, Terri, Dave, John, Carol and Jerem (our guide in training) and our leaders
That evening most of our group participated in the hangi, a Maori Cultural Experience. Rand and I took the evening off, but the others were greeted by a welcome ceremony (hongi) and the unveiling of a hangi, a traditional Maori feast that’s cooked underground. 
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Dave was a good sport and represented our group as the "visiting chief"

Rotorua

9/24/2017

 
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Friday we drove to Rotorua. Our journey took us through lush green pasture lands in the center of the North Island. 

​Our first stop was the beautiful Hamilton Gardens.
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Terri and Pat at Hamilton Gardens - can you tell we're sisters?
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Linda and Mary (9/3 departure date) at Hamilton Gardens
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Mel without his camera - we hardly recognized him.
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Ken and Deb (Kin 'n Dib in New Zealandese!)
Along the way, we stopped to join Ray and Dorothy for a home-hosted lunch and dairy farm visit.
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Delicious buffet lunch
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This year's dairy calves
Later we visited the Maungataurtiri Sanctuary Mountain.  This is a mountain-top reserve of virgin forest that has been fenced and cleared of human introduced predators (rats, possum, cats, etc) that kill the local birds.   Here we learned that many of the New Zealand indigenous birds are already extinct and many more are endangered because they have not developed self protection from these introduced pests.  New Zealand is experimenting with several methods of protecting the birds and hope to be "pest free" by 2050.
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New Zealand Kaka
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New Zealand Kingfisher
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​That evening we celebrated Carol's birthday.

Hello New Zealand!

9/23/2017

 
PictureOur New Zealand Guide, Tim.
Wednesday we flew from Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand. One of the great things about Overseas Adventure Travel tours is that they use local guides to insure their travelers get a full understanding of the culture of the place they are visiting. So, with the transfer of countries, we said a sad goodbye to our Australian Guide Darrin and hello to our New Zealand Guide Tim.  

We arrived mid afternoon, dropped our bags at the hotel and took of for an orientation walk.  No moss growing on these "rolling stones".  This is a busy itinerary!  That evening we enjoyed a New Zealand Welcome Dinner at a local restaurant.

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Our group under the arch of a traditionalMaori meeting house.
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Auckland has a tower that looks a lot like Sydney's.
Thursday, we’ll boarded the local bus and traveled to the Auckland Domain (park) and New Zealand Museum for wonderful exhibits of the traditional Polynesian culture heritage of the indigenous Maori.  After lunch we participated in a Tamaki Hikoi—a walking tour led by a Maori guide from the Ngati Whatua tribe.  Prince regaled us with stories of his youth and family history.  It gave us a uniquely Maori perspective.

We learned about the early settlement of New Zealand, ancient tribal traditions, and controversial issues confronting modern-day Maori. 
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Mary Ann and Prince do a Hongi
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Debbie and Prince do a Hongi
The traditional Maori greeting, the Hongi is done by pressing one's nose and forehead, at the same time, to another. It is used at traditional meetings among Maori people and serves a similar purpose to a formal handshake. In the hongi, the ha (or breath of life), is exchanged. The breath of life can also be interpreted as the sharing of both people’s souls. When you're that close and look into another's eyes, you feel a real connection!
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Margaret holding a ship in Auckland harbor (photo by John Menard)
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Randall and Prince do a hongi
First impressions:  New Zealand is cooler, damper, often overcast and spectacularly green.  
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