Waka Nui Nui...

 Writing on New Years Eve (for us, anyway!), 2024

We have arrived in New Zealand and our first stop is the Bay of Islands, specifically Waitangi. Randy and I have been to Russell (across the bay in the Bay of Islands name) a couple of times but not to Waitangi. We had a Māori guide for a tour entitled Kerikeri Basin, Puketi Forest, Māori Marae & Kawakawa. I will get to Kawakawa in a bit but suffice it to say that I have NEVER been on a tour that featured a public restroom as a destination!

Kerikeri Basin is just a beautiful little corner of the Bay of Islands:

I just took this photo because it was such a beautiful area. I don't remember why our guide was talking about it. I guess I have trouble paying attention in class!

This is our Māori guide who told WAY more than we wanted to know about his Māori ancestors (going back about 2000 years) and the land they lost, the chiefs he was related to, and the gruesome (really, really, gruesome. You'll have to trust me on this) things those chiefs did in a war.

Canoes, in the Māori language, are called Waka.

One of those chief's war canoes. The man is there so you can see how big it is, make from a Kauri tree.

 Just one tree!

Some of the detailed carving on the war canoe.

More of the details on the war canoe.

More details.

After the interlude with beautiful scenery we went to a Kauri forest. Kauri trees are closely related to our Sequoia and in many ways, better. They grow very, very large and they shed branches as they grow so they were perfect for the Waka that the Māori needed and also perfect for very long, very straight boards for building houses and large buildings. They are termite resistant and extremely strong. The oldest living tree is 2000 years old and the oldest known of was 4000 years old. They don't deteriorate under water and one has been found, preserved in water for 120,000 years.

A Kauri tree, absolutely straight for a 100 feet or more, and the same diameter under the branches 100 feet up as it is at the base.

The highlight of the tour, however, was our introduction to a Māori "tribe" (sort of like a family but a broader definition of family) in their Marae (pronounced marh-EYE) welcoming ceremony. We were not allowed to take photos of the ceremony itself but could of the building and its beautiful paintings and carvings after the ceremony. The building is made of kauri wood and is planned to last more than a thousand years. There are blank spaces for more carvings to be done every 100 years and the family that will do the carving in 2100 is already identified.

The outside of the Marae. We could not take any photos before the ceremony because of the ceremonial entrance we had to make (shoeless inside, women before men [so they could protect our backs]). Several speeches in Māori, translated by the Chief, then a speech by one of our tour group, then we were welcomed into the tribe and could take photos inside.

One of the female ancestors of the tribe.

Some of the beams (the blanks will be decorated in 2100) that to me are very reminiscent of native art in Alaska.

Then our last stop, the most visited toilet in New Zealand and arguably, the world. Have YOU ever travelled somewhere just to see a toilet? Apparently, a LOT of people do. And they come to the Bay of Islands. An architect, Bundertwasser (quite famous, according to the American architect [who designed about 13 of the worldwide Disneyworlds] we met on board), moved to Kawakawa, decided to help the town build a restroom, and stayed for the rest of his life, helping the town whenever he could.

Part of the exterior of the toilets.

The entrance to the toilets.

In case you can't find the toilets!

Enough of toilets!

So, are you still wondering about the heading of this blog, Waka Nui Nui? We had a discussion with the Māori guide who was talking about the Māori language, the second official language as well as the second most spoken language, and how the elders in Māori society have difficulty talking to the younger generation because of the number of new words being created that the elders don't recognize. Like a ship. First waka meant "canoe" which was the only method of transportation. Then came ship; they were called waka nui (big canoe). Now cruise ships are called waka nui nui, really big canoes. The younger generation is making up words that the elders don't recognize. They like "waka nui nui," it tells them everything they need to know about the cruise ship!

That's all for now. Another sea day tomorrow so I'll write and post photo of our winery trip to Waiheke and to Auckland.