We were fortunate to arrive in New Zealand just before Waitangi Day, the national holiday that commemorates the signing of a governance treaty between the British and more than 500 (but far from all) Māori tribes in 1840– and to be staying close to the Treaty Grounds on the North Island. Thus, I found myself on a sunny Sunday watching the holiday events kick off with a formal pōwhiri (Māori welcome ceremony) for Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. It’s a thrill like no other to watch fierce, heavily tattooed, muscled Māori men perform a haka ritual designed to intimidate: they grimace, stick out tongues and bulge eyes, brandish and twirl spears, stomp, yell and rush at their visitors.
In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, the first recorded European to sight New Zealand, was similarly greeted by people we now call Māori, in large boats called waka; thoroughly intimidated and unfamiliar with the expected ritualized response, Tasman’s men shot at the Māori; upon seeing 22 waka filled with warriors react, the Dutch fled, failing to make shore and leaving New Zealand unvisited by Europeans for more than another century.
We were surprised to learn that New Zealand, as far as written history indicates, was not settled until the 13th century by Polynesians. The last landmass to be inhabited by humans was also the first country to give women the right to vote (in 1893)!
The Te Kōngahu Museum at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds teaches: “The land that European voyagers ‘discovered’ was occupied by many independent tribes. Every part was under the mana (authority) of a particular group, led by their rangatira (tribal leaders). The people identified themselves by the names of their hapū (extended kin groups). Contact with outsiders led them to define themselves as Māori- from the term ‘tangata māori’, an ordinary person.” Tattoos contain culturally significant symbols and references; the part of the body that is tattooed may connote societal position and tribal affiliation.
We dig the NZ vibe: down-to-earth, no pretensions. The day after I saw PM Hipkins welcomed at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, we ran into him at the tiny Kerikeri airport; he was on the same commercial flight as ours. He kindly agreed to this photo with Hudson, shook our hands and wished us a good trip- then continued standing in the long coffee shop queue- no cutting in line for him!
Hudson turned 13 on February 8! A local bakery decorated his cake with a photo of Hudson holding Marco, a monkey he met in Marrakesh.
In Rotorua, we were invited onto a marae, a Māori community’s meeting grounds, typically comprised of a meeting house (entrance shown above) and a kitchen/dining hall. Movingly, we were invited by song to enter and told we were now considered family. Formally welcomed with a short speech and invocation, we were given the privilege of learning certain customs (funerary, celebratory), traditional dances and Māori creation myths. Theo and Hudson learned a haka (!) and we stuffed ourselves with a feast cooked by hangi: a centuries-old tradition of steaming food for hours over volcanic rocks placed over a fire. A couple of days later, we coincidentally re-encountered Hikurangi (lower right in photo above) as our guide at Te Puia, a local cultural center. He explained to people that tried to join us: “I’m just showing my family around, you’ll have to go with the other group.”
After visiting the marae, we were invited to a kaupapa Māori school; such schools were designed to revitalize and strengthen Māori cultural values by teaching Māori traditions and knowledge in the Māori language. New Zealand is one of the few countries I know that emphasizes incorporation of the indigenous language into daily life; thus, New Zealanders regularly refer to their country as Aoetearoa, greet each other with kia ora, and sign off on correspondence with Ngā mihi (“regards”, “thank you”). Many signs are written in English and Māori.
After mountain biking through the California Redwood forest in Rotorua, we did a 30 meter high treetop trek: 25 Indiana Jones-style bridges, 3 ziplines, priceless fun! Redwoods were one of hundreds of species planted to see which trees would best produce shipbuilding materials. These redwoods survived because they grew so quickly they were not sufficiently dense for boatbuilding and lost the contest to the radiata pine (another California import).
Narrowly missing Cyclone Gabrielle, which wreaked extreme damage on the North Island, we headed to Queenstown on the South Island. Set on the stunningly beautiful Lake Wakatipu, and bordered on one side by the aptly named Remarkables mountain range, Queenstown represents amazing outdoors fun (we hiked, luged at 400 meters on a mountain, rode hydro sharks, and river rafted)!
We learned a Māori legend about Lake Wakatipu: a giant kidnapped a beautiful Māori princess and her father promised her hand in marriage to whomever saved her. A commoner, previously rejected by the king, saved the princess and married her; to save his wife from future harm, he killed the sleeping giant by setting fire around the giant’s body, thus forming Lake Wakatipu. But the giant’s heartbeat remains, causing the lake water to rise and fall 8 inches every 27 minutes, a phenomenon which continues to this day.
Outside Queenstown, the Aspinall family welcomed us onto Mt Aspiring Station, their 23,000+ acre working farm held in the family for generations. After we devoured the most delicious homemade scones, Randall, his wife Allie and their two sons explained how the farm works, let us feed sheep and Randall demonstrated (using a whistle and verbal commands) how their herding dogs are trained. My favorite command: “Wayleggo”, or “come back to me”. The highly intelligent dogs respond to the slightest nuance of command.
On a serene helicopter ride from Queenstown to Milford Sound, we were able to land on a rocky beach on the Tasman Sea and then on Clarke Glacier!
New Zealand is a land of birds. On a boat trip along Abel Tasman National Park, we spotted a blue penguin (the world’s smallest penguin, and native to NZ)! Our favorite NZ birds include this guy, the kiwi (of course), the korimako (bellbird with a whistling call, said by the Māori to have been a messenger between humans and gods), the kākāpō (extremely endangered, we did not see one), and the playful pīwakawaka (fantail). Before humans arrived, there were no mammals other than a species of small bats; the lack of predators meant the islands were dominated by birds, many of which were unique to the islands.
Theo and Hudson kayaked in the Tasman Bay and we walked part of the national park’s track, learning about the volunteer work of the Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust. Over the centuries, a wide variety of introduced species (ferrets, stoats, weasels, possums, etc.) caused a mass extinction of hundreds of plant and bird species. NZ has launched a Predator Free by 2050 initiative, and traps (usually set with a chicken egg or peanut butter) are set throughout parks. As we had on the Routeburn Trail hike outside Queenstown, we checked the traps- not finding any animals was both a disappointment and a sign that the initiative is working. Prolific birdsong was another encouraging indication.
Our last NZ destination, near Nelson, was one of the most memorable. The extraordinary lodge where we stayed is nestled on a point overlooking the Waimea Estuary, allowing us to marvel at the water’s rise and retreat every 12 hours, with the area’s tidal swings of more than 10 feet. Hudson bonded with resident dogs Otis and Louis (Louis in photo below) and was pampered with custom-made meals by one of the owners, the world-class chef Ali.
