On Monday I was fortunate to have speakers come to our hotel to share the gospel of New Zealand. I had contracted a cold on Sunday and in Auckland it took root in my head and chest.  I was happy to stay inside while the cold raged inside me and the weather raged rainy  and windy outside. 

Prince Davis was a Maori chief who was at ground zero of the land disputes with the government from an early age. His family had a claim for land in Auckland and from 1974 to 1976 they participated in outdoor encampments to keep their claims visible and the government on notice. As he reports it, there was not much progress in negotiations at that time, but the government conceded 12 acres in 1987 out of the 1400 his tribe laid claim to.  Ultimately the government transferred 14,000 acres to the Maoris, 100 acres in Auckland, offering some consolation to the Maori.

Peace was more prominent in his message to us. He began and ended with a beautiful Maori song about the Creator as our source of love and our obligation to share that love with others. He told us about the Maori creation, which involved the separation of Earth from Sky, by Ra, the illuminator, bringing truth with language. He told us that language connected us to our ancestors and how he felt carried on the shoulders of his ancestors.

Welcome was his message in music and in meandering tales.  He was willing to share the bad with the good, but his light-hearted optimism infected everything. We were honored to be his guests.

 

Steve Abel, an anti-nuclear activist, told a more complex story of New Zealand’s opposition to nuclear weapons. Because it is situated in the corner of the Pacific most subject to nuclear testing, New Zealand has taken a more obstructive position regarding nuclear weapons than its allies. Since 1951 Australia, New Zealand, and the United States have been in military alliance (ANZUS), which compelled each member to consider an attack on one an attack on all. However, with the earliest testing in Christmas Island in 1956, the United States threatened that alliance. In a 1963 petition New Zealand took a standing against nuclear testing as it affected local populations. In 1973 the World Court ruled against the nuclear testing in the south Pacific, but was defied by the French, who continued testing into the 1990’s.

Between 1976 and 1985 the Greenpeace ship “Rainbow Warrior” organized protests of nuclear testing in the south Pacific. On July 10, 1985 the ship was blown up by French intelligence officers in Auckland harbor, pre-empting its protests later that year. The UN required France to pay $8 million in reparations and two intelligence agents were imprisoned for sentences they never served.

Because the U.S. would not certify that the USS Buchanan was nuclear-free, it was not allowed in a NZ harbor. This caused the U.S. to pull back from the ANZUS treaty in July, 1984 until 2016 when a U.S. ship entered NZ waters to rescue earthquake victims. In practice the treaty would have been operative, but the alliance was definitely strained.

Abel’s rather dramatic recounting of New Zealand’s anti-nuclear stance offered a counter-narrative to the historical position of the United States on nuclear testing. It turns out your position on issues is severely affected by your geographical proximity to them.

 

 

 

The good news is that we are not among the 970 tourists stranded near Franz Josef . The bad news is that we will not be seeing the Fox Glacier, a visual climax to our trip.

A massive slip blocking State Highway 6 on the West Coast will take at least six weeks to fix, Westland District Council Mayor Bruce Smith said.

“We’re a bit stunned today and it’s fair to say it’s extremely bad news for our tourism sector,” he said.

Smith confirmed 970 tourists were stuck in Franz Josef, which was cut off after slips left large stretches of SH6 closed. https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/118037051/tourists-stuck-in-franz-josef-after-heavy-rains-wash-away-highway?cid=app-android

. We will spend an extra night in Queensland and take a slow trek eastward to Christ Church to catch some of the sights along that would have been missed by a cross-country flight.

We  arrived in Auckland Monday afternoon and met the rest of our contingent, increasing our numbers to sixteen.  The five of us knew we would lose something  in the transition, but had songs and stories that popped up to remind us of our first five days together.

 Monday night found us at the Occidental, a local Belgian restaurant. The beer was amazing, brewed by Brouwerij Huyghe. Dinner was venison pie. Probably the most exotic meal so far, although the baked Kingfish at the Duke of Marborough Saturday night in Russell, Bay of Islands, was probably the best.

Our full group at the Maori-carved welcome gate.

Next, three days in Auckland. The weather looks wet.

 

 

 

 

Sunday was for sacred things: the Waitangi Treaty, the Maori Meeting Place, the Hararu Falls, a hike back to the hotel.  On the Waitangi Treaty grounds we heard the stories of the founding of New Zealand, summarized yesterday. Our Maori guide (at left in group shot below) virtually chanted the story, trying to show the intersection of the two cultures on Treaty Day, February 6. The Maori understand a Creator, but with many sub-deities who control every aspect of life. The welcoming statue, below center, was a symbol of inclusion of all peoples, while, the hostile warrior with the tongue, was a threatening gesture that invited confrontation. Our guide shared his culture with reverence and kindness.

In the afternoon we began our hike at Harkaru Falls, pictured below. Scenic, like most waterfalls, but today took another meaning for me, as we read from Richard Rohr (Preparing for Christmas). “There is probably no other way to understand the God’s nature except to daily stand under the waterfall of divine mercy and then become conduits of the same flow “(53). The hymn  Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, recalled this comparison in its “streams of mercy, never ceasing.”

Probably the image would not have had as much impact, but the next day we trekked around another waterfall en route to Auckland. This was the centerpiece of a park in Whangarai. We hiked down to the floor of the valley, then around and up the other side. These falls were more stunning than Haraku Falls, yet I can not remember that they had a name. Regardless it was stirring to have this image of God’s mercy imprinted for this trip.

We marched into Paihia’s history on the second day of our visit.  Rain threatened throughout the morning, but our intrepid leader confidently walked us past this model of an ancient Maori gate, welcoming or warning the likely visitor to the community, and  we  were  barely  dampened.

In the grave yard behind St. Paul’s Church we traced the early history of Captain Cook’s discovery (1769), then earliest missions of Samuel Marsden (Anglican, 1814), Henry Williams (Presbyterian) and Bishop Pompellier (Catholic). This is a modern stone church with stained glass portraying angels playing Maori pipes. We were encouraged to wash our hands as we left the cemetery, as a sign we would take nothing to disturb the spirits or the serenity of the place.

 

 

After dodging Hole in the Rock, we landed on the opposite shore at vacation town of Russell.

Russell turned into an amoral frontier town in the 1820’s with excessive debauchery that alarmed the residents. it became known as the Hellhole of the Bay.  James Busby was dispatched to restore order, but he was given no forces to secure the town. The seal and whale hunters were armed and dangerous to the settlers and  Maori tribes. Ultimately their prey began to vanish and the hunters moved on to better grounds.

Meanwhile the British took keener interest in the territory as the French had designs on the land. They sent Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson to negotiate with the Maori with the assistance of James Busby. His house on the Paihia side of the bay became the site of the Treaty of Waitangi, the founding document of New Zealand, which broadly promises independence to the Maori under the “sovereignty” of the Queen. Apparently the Maori text of the agreement had no translation for the word “sovereignty,” a misunderstanding that festered over the years. Even so, 40 chiefs, led by the enterprising Hone Heke, signed the Maori version on February 6, 1840, a date celebrated today as “Waitangi Day.” Eventually 540 chiefs signed the document, under the impression that they could still manage their own affairs, whereas the English document guaranteed only “undisturbed possession” of all their properties.

We visited the treaty grounds on the third day of our visit.

After a restful recovery at the Heartland Hotel, we met our Pre-Trip colleagues at the Auckland Airport and boarded the tour bus for Paihia, theBay of Islands.  Six people, including the guide, boarded a bus that could easily hold thirty people, a stupefying sight for anyone observing us unload in a parking lot.  (Perhaps the other thirty passengers had been struck down with disease the day before?). No, this was the Bay of Islands Pre-Trip “Pure New Zealand” by Overseas Adventures Travel.

The intrepid crew below:

We broke up the 122-mile trip to Paihai (Good here) with stops at Orewa, Warkworth and Kawakawa. Below Victoria on the beach at Erewa. Yeah, the weather was fantastic– cool, breezy and dry.

At Warkworth we took a vigorous walk through the Mahurangi Regional Park. Our guide, Catherine, sets a brutal pace, but slows for the stragglers.  Below left, the crew pauses in front of the McKinnney Kauri (agathis australis), an 800-year old tree, hard as a rock. The Kiwi’s protect this park religiously. You scrub  your footwear on brushes walking in and out of the park. “Die Back Disease” is a lethal threat to the plant life.

At Kawakawa we posed shamelessly in front of the famous Hundertwasser toilets, famous for their elaborate mosaic designs. We came, we saw, we paid tribute:

W

We arrived at Paihia early enough to settle in and enjoy dinner at the Copthorne Hotel, our home for the next two days.  We would soon find out how true the name “Good here” was.

 

Our shuttle driver to the hotel first pointed out these festive trees, the “Puhutukawa” https://globaltrees.org/threatened-trees/trees/pohutukawa/ on the roadside, commonly known as the “New Zealand Christmas Tree.”  Their red blooms coincide with Christmas, but they are already apparent even outside our hotel in a commercial neighborhood.

Following a 14.5 hour flight, the first thing you want to do in New Zealand is flop on the nearest bed.  We almost were homeless our first day when our hotel reservation had been inadvertently canceled. (We are still trying to figure out that one).  The desk manager was about to turn us away when something occurred to her, and we were offered a room, ready for our tired bodies at 10 a.m.  Pause while we shower and flop.

Another disorientation is the loss of Wednesday, which magically disappeared as we crossed the International Dateline. Henceforth we will be living Thursday, while folks at home are experiencing Wednesday. We plan to recover the lost day on the trip home. We hope the time travel does not confuse readers in American time zones.

In the afternoon, we found the “Postie,” known officially as “The Post Office,” a sunny pub about half a mile from our hotel. Grabbed  my  first  New Zealand beer: Monteith’s Black [ https://www.monteiths.co.nz/Beer-And-Cider/Black-Beer] . We also stuffed ourselves with “kumaras,” strips of sweet potato, and mac and cheese balls.

 

 

Still recovering from time lost somewhere in the International Dateline, we wandered the neighborhood and then returned for a short nap. Dinner was beet salad and Caesar salad in the hotel’s “Runway Restaurant.” Kudos to the bartender and the maitre’d, who served and cleared in the restaurant with no waitstaff in sight   The tour organizers told us not to tip (not customary), but it was hard not to recognize heroic efforts, so we did anyway. Beginning to feel acclimated to the time change, we retired soon after 10 p.m., planning to meet our actual tour group at the airport at 6:45 a.m. on Friday, or, as our readers might call it, “Thursday.”

Some of you know we are headed for New Zealand tomorrow, December 10.

Just learned about the volcano eruption on White Island on Monday, December 9. It appears to be at least 100 miles from our nearest approach (see trip diagram below). Waimangu Volcanic Valley is closest, but I stress this is a dormant field. We will be in that region on December 19-20 and move south from there.

Our entire excursion is organized by Overseas Adventure Travel. For the next week we will be in the Bay of Islands which is to the north of North Island, considerable distance from the volcano.  The trip is planned to move south from there, as you can see below. 

We appreciate your prayers, but feel our itinerary should be safe. 

2020: Enhanced!Day-to-Day Itinerary

Guaranteed 70’s today and not a cloud in the sky. Yesterday was almost as nice, but my spirits crashed, feeling the huge gap between the day and the absence of Kathy.
Wrote about it in “Melancholy Interlude,” but not going to feature it today. I’m determined to celebrate the beauty of this place. Starting with the Rhododendron Bush by the stairs to my condo.

Yesterday had a crab melt here, while my laundry tossed in the dryer.

After that a caramel almond no-added sugar cup of ice cream at the locally famous Round Top.

In the evening went out on the wharf outside my window. Here’s the view of the condo from the wharf.

Celebration today will begin at the Oxbow Brewery. In the afternoon, I promise.