"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." Lao Tzu

Monday, April 13, 2009

Day 4: Tamaki Heritage Experience

We boarded the bus for our trip to the Tamaki Maori Village. While enroute we were instructed by our guide the rules and protocol of entering a "Marae". It is customary for the welcoming tribe to send out a challenge of peace. The warrior goes through movements and recites chants until the peace offering is placed in front of the visiting tribe. If the visiting tribe did not accepted the peace offering, the welcoming tribe would kill the visiting tribe. M was chosen to represent our bus as its chief.


When we got to the village no one was allowed entrance until the Powhiri (formal welcome) was performed. The warrior went through intimidatory gestures and displays certain movements with his Taiaha (spear-like weapon), until the Teka (peace offering) was placed and received by one of the visiting chiefs. Once the Karanga (welcoming call) was echoed throughout the courtyard, we were allowed to enter the grounds where the Tangata Whenua (people of the land) demonstrated different activities such as hand games, poi twirling, and weaponry displays.

We entered the Wharenui (big house), which is used as the meeting house. The building represents an ancestor of the Tamaki past. It is customary for women not to be seated in the front row of the meeting house because if fighting were to occur between the home people and the visitors, the men would be able to protect the women. The men also make all the welcome speeches. Here we were treated to traditional song and dance along with the Haka.

After we left the meeting house we were treated to the hangi (earth oven) a traditional dinner. The food is prepared and placed in baskets made of flax. Volcanic rock (scoria, basalt or any other type of rock that doesn't shatter when heated) line the bottom of the hole and have been heated to white hot by the native timber Manuka. The meat baskets are placed directly on the superheated stones while the vegetable baskets are then placed in the hole topped with the pudding baskets. A wet cloth is placed over the food followed by a wet hessian. Earth is piled quickly over everything to keep the heat inside the earth oven. Once this is done, the food cooks for 3 to 4 hours. We ate kumara (type of sweet potato), carrots, potatoes, coleslaw, chicken, lamb and fish for dinner and had fruit and pavalino for dessert. Everything was amazing.After a lovely evening at Tamaki we visited the Polynesian Spa for an hour. We soaked in heated spa water that is feed by the geyser. Since it is feed by the geyser, there is a strong sulfur smell, which can be smelled from a mile away, and any silver jewelry exposed to the water will tarnish. It sure felt heavenly to sit in water that was around 95 degrees after spending several hours on a plane, in a car, and walking around all day. It sure took out the knots and any other soreness before we called it a night at the Kiwipacka Youth Hostel.

Day 4: Auckland, New Zealand...Kia'ora!

Since we crossed the International Date Line heading west, we skipped New Years Day entirely. We left Hawaii on New Years Eve and arrived in Auckland on Jan. 2, 2008. Really cool when you think about it, not only are we shellbacks but also time travelers! Didn't get a lot of sleep on the plane since Bob can't really relax/sleep on a plane; it's the whole control thing. When we arrived at the airport, we went through customs. Because a majority of the indigenous species were wiped out, New Zealand is strict on what comes into the country so that they can keep the species they currently have. Such things as our hiking boots were looked at for any trace of algae (rock snot is something that is currently found in the waterways) and any flora collected in Hawaii and pressed in our journals was also taken. A cute little beagle was used to sniff out any flora and hit the jack-pot with our group.
We loaded up the van and packed the trailers with our gear and headed to Rotoura on the left side of the road. I rode shotgun with Doc. It has been awhile since I've ridden with him and needless to say, riding with him while driving on the left side of the road sure kept me from nodding off on the 3 hour ride. The road we took was the Thermal Explorer Highway and there was evidence of faults and compressional stress in the strata along the way.We stopped at Te Puia Cultural Center to view the geothermal activity and to learn about the Maori culture. The sign greeting us said "a mata ki a kite, awaha ki a rongo, a ringa ki a marama" which translates into "Show me and I'll see, tell me and I'll hear, involve me and I'll understand." We meet our tour guide Paul McGarvey and walked around the grounds. Paul took us into the meeting place and spoke about the Maori language and about the importance of the carvings.The Maori speak only one native language as compared to other cultures. For example the Native Americans speak over 100 languages, the Aborigines over 120. There are only 36 letters in the Maori language and only 15 letters in their alphabet. Oral tradition, singing, and carvings told of the Maori people. The Maori believed God created man imperfect so the carvings show a distorted image. These figures represented chiefs and chiefest. Slowly they started to become more human-like due to the settling of Europeans. The head is the most sacred part of a person (knowledge/wisdom). The carved figure heads have large eyes and the tongue is protruding. The enlarging of the eyes and protrusion of the tongue is used as an intimidation to scare enemies and to prepare the warriors physically and spiritually before battle. This can be seen in the ha'ki, a traditional war dance. 3 fingers were carved to represent birth, life, and death and sometimes a 4th finger was used to represent the afterlife. The spiral designs represent birds and trees and the abalone shell was used to represent power. Carvings done between the legs represent the next generation. The carvings told of the great deeds, battles, and people. The totalia tree, similar to redwood, is a softwood that is used for the carvings. The wood is stained with red volcanic clay and with shark liver oil for shine. Now local stains and paints are used.
The Maori migrated to New Zealand from Tahiti around 1350 AD because of starvation. Kupa an explorer and 7 canoes (200-250 people/canoe) left Tahiti to New Zealand. The Maori never used stars to navigate. They used the warm and cold seasons. The voyage to NZ happened when the weather became warmer. The canoes were pointed south and navigated through the water. They took birds to release to determine if land was close and followed the migration of the whales. 6 of the 7 canoes landed on the North Island and the last canoe on the South Island. The South Island is colder so 90% of the Maori culture is on the North Island. The tribe names come from the names of the 7 canoes.The Maori tattoos were documented by Captain James Cook. Facial tattoos were done to men once they entered manhood. Women had their lips and chin done after the age of 30. Later on the thighs and buttocks were tattooed on the men. The dyes used was from a black flightless beetle. Bird's barbs were used to carve, not tap, the dye into the face. It took about 4 to 5 days for a complete tattoo. Today more of the traditional art form is coming back.The area Te Puia is located is filled with geothermal activity. Water is located next to hot magma and the thermal pressure is released causing a geyser. Since the Earth's crust is the thinnest there is a lot of activity. Silicon deposits take about 25 years for 1 inch to form. Sulfur can be seen around the strata along the geyser. Pohutu is the largest geyser in NZ. When it erupts it can shoot geothermal water up to 30 m. The heated water was used by the Maori to cook food and to bathe. Minerals are found in the water and the public hospital has access to the geothermal area. The mud from the mud pools are used to relieve pain and in beauty treatments.The two national symbols for NZ are the silver fern and the Kiwi bird. The ferns were used to mark the way when traveling in the forest at night. The Kiwi birds are flightless. They have no wings and not tails but very strong legs for running. The nickname for New Zealanders is Kiwis and is due to the Kiwi boot polish used by WWII soldiers.

Paul sure gave us a lot of information for our first day in NZ and after not having a lot of sleep the brain was in slow melt down. We had a few hours before heading to Tamaki for a heritage experience, a hangi.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Day 3: O'ahu

Everyone was up early so that we could get to Pearl Harbor before the crush. Even though we were there early, we still had 2 hours to wait before the film and boat to the memorial. We toured around the museum and were greeted by a survivor of the attack. Getting a first hand glimpse of the harbor prior to 12/7 and after was thought provoking. Touring the memorial made you appreciate the freedoms we have in this country. Though this country has issues at the federal, state, and local areas, it still is a great nation. I am humbled by all the men and women who are willing to lay down their lives for this country; to them it's a sense of honor, duty, commitment. They know that they may be called to war and may lose their life yet they still enlist and serve. Our freedoms are because of the selfless sacrifice of so many individuals. Standing on the USS Arizona Memorial, I was reminded again of those who willing serve. You may not agree with the notion of war but as long as there are governments there will be wars and rumors of wars. You may not support the war but support those who are fighting it for you. They are doing it so you can enjoy all those freedoms you take for granted.After leaving the memorial, we headed to the Dole Plantation. Since the sugar beet can yield 2 harvest per year compared to sugarcane which needs 2 years to grow, a lot of the sugarcane plantations no longer dominate the landscape. The same with pineapple plantations. Currently the whole Dole production is now in Costa Rica. We toured the garden around the plantation. Many varieties of plant species were seen. Eucalyptus trees are native to Australia but several were seen around the grounds. The leaves of these trees have an oil in them that is like Halls cough drops. Heliconia (Lobster claw), Ornamental Ginger, Hibiscus, Beaver tail cactus, pineapple, bananas, papaya, and Rubber trees were all seen in the garden.
From the plantation, we headed to Pali lookout. Pali means steep cliff. There is a narrowing gap due to the mountains coming together. This produced the effect known as Bornoulli. High winds are channeled down through the gap. The Pali pass was used as a shorter way to Ko'olau. The windward side of Pali is covered with moss, liverworts, ferns and small vascular plants. These are considered pioneer species. Lichen was also seen on the rock strata. These species will provide enough soil over time due to erosion and this will allow for larger plant species to settle.We grabbed a bit to eat before heading to the airport for our late night flight to Auckland. While waiting to board, we had a wrap-up lecture of O'ahu and Suzanne gave her devotion on Eph. 2:10. She related the Banyan tree (massive prop roots) to the Christian life. That we need to get stronger by putting down strong roots and how we get stronger is by fellowshipping with other believers.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Day 2: O'ahu

Being wide awake at 2:30 am island time was annoying. I laid there staring at the ceiling hoping I could go back to sleep at least for a few more minutes but that didn't happen. As soon as someone else starting stirring, we all got up and got ready for the day. It was still dark outside when we headed out to tour the grounds of the resort. Seeing the morning sun breech the horizon was lovely. Being up that early we were treated to all the morning calls from the birds. A and I spent time smelling the tropical flowers and collecting some for our journals. There were many varieties of bougainvillea. The flowers are always the same color but the 'petals', which are technically modified leaves, are different colors. The African Tulip Tree was in full bloom and the variety of plumeria (fringapani) was heavenly. Just staying in one spot and smelling the tropical aroma was a wonderful way to bring in the new day.We met in Doc's room around 8 am. Doc gave us some information on the Hawaiian culture like how the Hawaiian alphabet has only 13 letters and how O'ahu has the greatest population out of all the Hawaiian islands.

Each day a student, if they want to, would give a devotion. Doc would give the first and last devotion of the trip. This mornings devotion was from 2 Timothy 1 dealing with how "God doesn't give us a spirit of fear..." Doc mentioned that we might encounter some things along the way that will scare or frighten us. He stated for us not to succumb to the fear; that we have a greater power to help us over come; for us to face the issue head on and God will get us through.

We loaded up the vans and headed out for the day. Originally we were going to visit USS Arizona Memorial but because of the cruise ships in port the line was extremely long so we decided to do it another day. We headed to Ala Mona Mall to grab food and to look around before heading up to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling.
Hanauma Bay is a Marine Reserve. They limit the amount of traffic to the area daily. Before heading out to the bay, all visitors are given a brief introduction to the reserve along with its history. The bay is a compound crater formed when a submarine volcano broke the surface of the water. Reef and ash material created the crater combs and sea level rose to form the bay. The Polynesians first saw the bay and probably named it for its shape. The sand on the beach is imported from other areas because the original sand is green and visitor's normally have a mental thing about sand any other color than white. Not only are the marine organisms protected but also the land animals within the reserve. One of these such animals is the mongoose, which was introduced to take care of the rodent population but since the mongoose is diurnal and the rodents are nocturnal, it didn't work.

Though the thought of a marine reserve is a great idea, the area was filled more of coral rubble than actual live coral. Yes, there were a lot of marine organisms within the area and some turtles were seen swimming in the backdoor channel but it was still affected with all the human activity. One of the rules was to not touch/stand on the coral but while puttering around the bay several visitors weren't following this rule, which drives me crazy since coral reefs are my passion. The bay provided an opportunity for others to learn how to snorkel without being bombarded with waves.

After a day in the sun we headed back to the resort for our evening class and the night's devotions which was given by Meg on Ecc. 12:1. "Enjoy Life." If it ain't fun, then it's not worth doing!

Day 1: On our way to O'ahu

Our first day of the trip was a very long day. It started at 4 am with us getting up and heading out the door by 4:15. We waited in line to check in our luggage, met the group at the gate, and waited to board the 6:55 am flight to IAH (Houston). This was a great opportunity to follow one of Doc's famous rules: Sleep when you can! At least in Houston we would have a few hours to walk around before boarding another flight to Honolulu. Good thing the butt doesn't have a lot of nerve endings because sitting for about 6 hours from Boston to Houston and then sitting again for about another 8 hours from Houston to Hawaii would definitely cause a lot of pain.
Hawaii is 5 times zones behind Boston. Since they don't observe daylight savings time (we really should get rid of it), Hawaii is 6 hours behind Boston during the months of April to October. New Zealand is 17 hours ahead of Boston. The whole time change thing will be interesting.We got to Honolulu around 5 pm local time (10 pm in Boston) and picked up the rental vans. Grabbed a bite to eat at a local Taco Bell. Since this is a budget trip (roughly $3000 for a month), some of the meals we are responsible for on our own, some meals will be provided, and sometimes we'll chip in and purchase sandwich making stuff. After filling up on tacos, we headed to the Makaha Golf Resort. As Doc stated, we have a long flight in a couple of days. This is a nice rest stop before heading on. Doc released us to our rooms for some sleep, with plans of meeting in his room the next morning at 8 am to start one of the two days we would be spending in O'ahu.

Hawaii/New Zealand...About time!

"I'm heading to Hawaii and New Zealand come the end of the year. Do you think you can come and be the geology expert?" These were a few of the words I heard from my precious ex-professor, ex-adviser, ex-landlord, friend one day back in September 2006. Doc, a local professor at a private college here in New England, has been taking kids to exotic places forever. During my undergraduate career, I was able to head with him on several trips: (1) US Virgin Islands aboard the Spirit of Massachusetts 1994 and (2) Belize 1995. My senior year of college he ran a trip to Hawaii and New Zealand during J-term. I wasn't able to go financially and was a little jealous of those who went and their experiences when they came back. So when these words were uttered in a friendly conversation, my heart sped up and my brain yelled "YES!!!"

Of course being a teacher this reality might not be possible. The time for the trip was Dec. 29, 2006 to Jan. 24, 2007. Yeah, we're talking about me missing half a term from school. I told Doc I probably wasn't going to be able to go but I would ask. See my mom instilled in her kids that it doesn't hurt to ask. This philosophy I use frequently. What's the worst that can happen? Someone says no. So I gathered all the information I could from Doc, talked to the substitute who covered for me the year before, and headed to my superintendent's office for a chat. See the year before, my superintendent approved my request to be gone 2 weeks during January to Belize/Guatemala. This was another reason why I wasn't too confident that I would get the ok to head to Hawaii/New Zealand. Sitting in the superintendent's office I must admit I was a little nervous. So after taking a deep breath, I launched into my persuasive speech. I laid out the pros and cons of having me go, what I was responsible for while on the trip, how I had already spoke with the substitute to see if she was willing and available for that amount of time, and stressed that this wasn't a vacation during the school year; I would be teaching and dealing students basically 24/7. To my utter surprise, he said "Yes".

I walked out of his office in a daze. Did what I just hear happen? Was it real or was he joking? Am I really going to two places I've always wanted to visit but haven't had the chance or opportunity to so far? By the time I reached my classroom, I was eager to call my husband to relay the good news then contact Doc to say, "I'm in!" Of course this meant a lot of preliminary work on my part but oh, I was so not worrying about that.

Prior to heading out on 12/29, Doc had some night classes. These classes are required for those taking this travel course for credit. I decided to attend the classes because I love listening to Doc and wanted to get a look at those going on the trip. I know they say that first impressions aren't always accurate and that 'you can't judge a book by its cover' so when I noticed a few of the students appearing to be high maintenance or a few students who appeared to be going on the trip just to get a suntan, I dismissed these thoughts right away. Spending a month in close proximity with individuals, you'll get to know them pretty well. This is always a fun yet scary thing.

I'm going to be come a shellback (term used for sailors who crossed the equator); I'm going to jump forward in time and then jump back in time (crossing the International Date Line); I'm going to Hawaii and New Zealand with Doc. Let another adventure begin!

Well...what adventure next?

In a couple of weeks I'll be heading to Belize and Guatemala with 18 students. Getting to this point has been a challenge. The kids are getting excited as the day draws closer. Me? I'll get excited once I'm on the plane heading there. I have a lot to do yet but at least I'm already packed. Living in New England, I don't have to worry about wearing shorts until the end of May so it was easy to pack up the warm weather clothes, my diving stuff, and other tropical type items. I'm hoping the kids have a great experience and that for the chaperons heading with us (Doc and I) will also enjoy the trip. I really hope to be a light to those we encounter. I hope that the student's eyes will be opened to the beauty that surrounds them and come away appreciating how good they have it here in the US. It will be interesting to read their journals once we get back.
I know I won't be able to keep a day-to-day blog of the trip because I'm choosing to travel light. I'll blog about the trip and experience when I get back. I enjoy looking forward to these types of trips because I can leave the cell phone, the ipod, and the computer behind and just experience nature with no distractions. Since it will be awhile before I post on Belize/Guatemala 2009, I figured I would go back a couple years and post about a trip I took to Hawaii/New Zealand in 2007. Basically I spent a month away from work with 2 professors, 18 college students, and our friends, the E's. I definitely have a lot of pictures to choose from. My husband was in charge of getting me killer shots for my classes. I think the final count was around 1000 photos in Hawaii and close to 2000 photos in New Zealand. So enjoy!