Tamaki Maori Village

The first thing that I need to do is apologize for the photo quality. Everything was coming out blurry that night. The temperature was a bit cooler, and certainly people kept moving, but I'm not sure that's a good explanation. I might just be better with nature photography.

Obviously if we were going to New Zealand, we had to go to a Maori feast. There are several options everywhere you go. In Rotorua, there are at least three. We had booked with Tamaki Maori Village in advance, if for no other reason than that I found information on them first, and they fit into our itinerary. The mean bus driver said Mitai was the one to go to, but he was mean, so what does he know. I don't really know anything about Mitai or Te Puia, so I'm just going to tell you how our experience went.

We had a pickup at our hotel and were taken to a central location where we were divided into tribes and loaded onto buses. To get you into the experience, you become a tribe journeying to the village. On the bus we picked a chief and we talked about rowing. (Talking does not sound as interactive as it was, but we were not actually rowing, so that's what I'm going to have to call it.) Also, protocol was explained for the process of being challenged and entering the village.

There were five buses, therefore five chiefs, so they stood out front while the rest of us stood behind and around them. Warriors came and issued the challenge, then, satisfied that we came in peace, we were allowed to enter the village.

This is probably a good time to explain the background. Tamaki Maori Village was started by the Tamaki brothers. Their goal was to get people out of the cities into a real village setting, which is why we had the bus ride (you can get the feast and show at hotel theaters). They couldn't find investors, so they sold their motorcycles (which they loved) to get up some funds, and built it up. My understanding is that it has been successful enough that the motorcycles have been replaced.

So when you get to the village, there are traditional structures set up, and demonstrations of weaving and food preparation and warrior training. There is time to look around and ask questions, and get photos with the cast members. This is the only real time to do that, as they disappear after the show.

The show was okay. I think it was more exciting at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii, but maybe this is more accurate. The PCC does have a bigger cast and a bigger space, but then they are throwing in other dances too, and this was all Maori, and only Maori.

After the show we went in to dinner. It was a buffet, and it would be reasonable to wonder what all was served, but I'm not sure I remember everything. I think there was lamb, chicken, and fish for meat. There were definitely carrots and sweet potatoes (which they call kumara). I think there were regular potatoes too, and different kinds of breads. It was good. The wait staff were fun, and there was a lot of good-natured joking and teasing (like making a special point of finding the Australians and British to show them where the bar was).

We had fairly good interactions with people. On the bus to Waitomo, we were with some Americans who were just know-it-alls, and complainers. One woman had been held up in customs because she forgot she had an apple in her pack, and it cost her 200 NZD. The man in the other couple spent a lot of time talking about whom he would complain to, and how he was going to complain everywhere to punish Qantas for a reservation issue he had, even though based on what he said it was at least partially his ignorance that caused it.

We did have some Americans at our table, but they were fine. Overall it was a very international group. In addition to the British and Australians (who did not seem to be drunkards), there were people from Fiji, and Taiwan, I think--lots of places that I don't remember. Everyone was pretty friendly.

It also gave us a chance to realize how lucky we were. We found people who had completely missed the cave tour because the rain kept coming, and people who had to spend an extra night in Queenstown because of snow, and who never got to see a kiwi despite spending a lot of money to do so. Yes, we had our issues in southern Australia and other places, but really we were doing okay. We had been able to see a lot and there was more on the way.

Also, we got a huge ovation on the way back. They have already done all the educating on the way out, so on the way back they have people give introductions, and sing. They skipped a few to get to us, because we were the only Americans on the bus and they thought we would be interesting (it was the chief's idea). I gave our names and origins, and said, "Just because people usually want to know, let me say that we are all voting for Obama" and they erupted into applause.

When that died down I had no idea what to sing, but the driver interjected and started us on "She'll be coming round the mountain." It was time to sing this because we were at the turnaround, and tour drivers often like to have a few extra spins. We went around at least four times.

Now, you may remember that we met a girl on the way to Rainbow Springs, and she did not have as full an itinerary, but I think based on our influence she decided to go to Tamaki, and we ran into her there. Also, she went to the museum (which we did not get to, but she recommended) and met a guy, and he mysteriously decided to go to Tamaki as well. Really they were both very nice, but it seemed strangely typical to see someone else picking up guys when we were not (no offense if you read this, Michelle).

And that will be a somewhat relevant point in the next update, which will be a bit of a transitional piece.

http://www.maoriculture.co.nz/
http://www.mitai.co.nz/
http://www.nzmaori.co.nz/
http://www.rotoruamuseum.co.nz/

Rainbow Springs Nature Park

Obviously, it was important that we see a kiwi while we were in New Zealand. My first thought was the Kiwi House in Otorohanga, but it didn't seem to work out logistically. While researching Rotorua, I learned about the Kiwi Encounter at Rainbow Springs, and that seemed like the way to go.

We really made the right choice. Talking to some people on the way to the hangi later, they had paid something like $40.00 at the Auckland Zoo, and the kiwi never came into view. We saw several.

You may notice that I have no pictures of kiwi. In the encounter itself, you cannot take pictures. There are two other areas in the park where you can see kiwi, a night exhibit and a day exhibit. The only one where you can take pictures is the day exhibit, and there were no birds there when we looked. So admittedly for taking pictures of kiwi there are issues with Rainbow Springs too, but for seeing them it still works well.

We do have pictures of many other birds, because New Zealand is the land of birds, with it's only native mammal being the bat. (Well, that's if you are not counting marine mammals. I don't think the seals were imported.) Anyway, we got to see many native species here. We fell most in love with the kea, a native parrot with an engaging personality. We were able to see them in many places, but this was the first. The bottom picture is a kea, below the weka and a kereru.

The blue splash there is a little out of focus, but it is an albino trout. The lack of pigment shows them to be blue instead of white. Trout are not native to New Zealand, but a fishing enthusiast managed to introduce them, and they are a very popular game fish. Rainbow Springs grows them from hatchlings, and so there were pools with them at all different sizes, and eventually they are released into fishing spots.

The top photo is a tuatara. They can live to be around a hundred years old, but this one was fairly young, I think. They are famous for having a third eye, but that is sort of an exaggeration. It is not a full eye and it gets covered with scales within six months of hatching, but it may still absorb ultra-violet light.

There are different areas focusing on native species (birds and reptiles, as well as plants), the trout, and then there is an almost petting zoo like area focusing on introduced species. You can explore the park without doing the kiwi encounter, and I believe you can do the kiwi encounter, but both are worthwhile.

For the kiwi encounter you should book in advance, because there are a limited number of spaces. This is primarily to not stress the birds too much, but it also helps ensure that everyone can see without being too crowded.

The problem with the various introduced mammal species (stoats, possum, dogs, and cats) is that in addition to habitat destruction, they tend to eat the eggs and the newly-hatched, so Rainbow Springs will find eggs in the wild, take them, incubate them, and then raise the birds until they are big enough to not be easy prey. They then get released into the wild near their original spot. The birds are monitored, so they can tell you that they have hatched children and granchildren of eggs that were hatched there.

It may sound unnatural, but introducing carnivorous and omnivorous land mammals sent them way past natural, and as much as they have tried to root out the introduced species, it has not worked. Actually, if I recall correctly the stoats were introduced to cut down on the introduced rabbits. It is considered a citizen's duty that if you see a possum in the road you will make an effort to run it over (one reason I was glad not to be driving).

Anyway, with the encounter they show you a little bit of the reproductive style, then you move to the incubators and see the eggs, the hatchery where the eggs go when they are ready to hatch, the room where the baby chicks are, then bigger chicks, and there is even a section where they have some adults. They do take in injured adults as well. Most are rehabilitated and released, but there are a few who become permanent residents based on their odds of survival. So you see, we saw many kiwis, even if we do not have the photos to prove it.

From my last post, I had indicated that the previous day was a good tour, but we got soaked. My coat and regular shoes were still drying, so I was wearing no coat and the Tevas, and another wet day would have been kind of bad. Really, we did pretty well. It was mostly clear with occasional sprinkles, and we ended up being okay.

There were some transportational snags. There is a shuttle that goes from Tourism Rotorua to Rainbow Springs, along with other attractions, and we took that. The shuttle is supposed to be hourly, and we asked about getting back and the driver mumbled something about noon. We should have asked for clarification. We were ready to catch it at noon, and that is actually the one hour when it doesn't run. We should have asked at the park, where the people are helpful and have lots of pertinent information. Anyway that was a long wait, so we had lunch there, which I do not recommend. The food is not great and quite expensive. So do go to the park, and do the kiwi encounter, but plan out your return trip so that you get back in town for lunch. Or pack one, I guess.

The other things that was interesting was that we chatted with a girl on the shuttle who was going to the Agrodome. This is sort of a farm expo. It can be interesting, apparently, but is geared more for kids. We found her on the return trip as well, so that is when it is acceptable to change names and consider keeping in touch. Actually, I think we influenced her decisions, so we encountered her for a third time as well. More on that later.

http://www.rainbowsprings.co.nz/
http://www.kiwihouse.org.nz/
http://www.agrodome.co.nz/