New Zealand!
We arrived in New Zealand on 9 November 2010. We spent four days in Auckland and then boarded the Kiwi Experience Tour Bus for a duration of 17 days. The Kiwi Experience was our transport and tour organizer through various towns and cities, During our adventures, we discovered beautiful scenery, Maori traditions, glow worms, and some great "sports". Enjoy the photos, stories and videos! - Casey & Andrew
What we've learned!
The Maori People:
The natives of New Zealand take great pride in their ancestry. Maoris used to tattoo their faces with their family history. The left side of the face was the mother's family history.
The right side is the father's family history. Down the middle of the face was the significant accomplishments of the individual's life. Therefore, in Maori...the question was never "who are you?", but rather "how are you?".
Today, most Maoris tattoo their body with their family history instead of their faces.
The Kiwi:
The Kiwi is the national bird of New Zealand. It's a nocturnal bird that cannot fly and is endangered. The Kiwi was cherished by the Maori people because it's feathers were used for the ceremonial cloaks.
Photos
New Zealand has a lot of history and culture. We saw several statues dedicated to past heroes, law makers, and even the Queen of England! We also saw the way the natives lived before New Zealand was settled by Europeans.
Daily living in New Zealand is much like it is in the USA. Kids play sports in the local parks, men and women wear business suits to work, police monitor the streets, and Starbucks and McDonald's are everywhere! They are a little bit more adventurous here though...
New Zealand is rich with trees, geo-thermal activity, animals and colorful plants and ferns. It's a beautiful place!
New Zealand is the adventure capital of the world with many CrAzY sporting options. Our experiences included glacier hikes, bungy jumping, jet-boating, and blackwater rafting, but the list of options goes on and on and on.....
Videos
Catherdal Cove is a beautiful beach located around lots of corners, under lots of trees, over several rocks, past some farmland and down many many many stairs. It was worth the hike though! What a beautiful beach!
The Maori people traditionally told their stories with many hand gestures and song. Here is an example of how things used to be long ago.
The Haka! The Maori people believed that power and respect were key to survival. The Haka is a tribal war song with a lot of slapping, grunting, and facial expressions meant to intimidate the enemy.
Jet Boating was invented in 1954. It is a boat that has two V8 engines, can run on six inches of water, and makes crazy spins as it coasts over the water. We almost hit rocks on several occasions, but the driver was much better than we thought.
After a hot walk through Cape Foulwind, we were awarded with spectacular views of Fur Seals bathing in the surf. There were several lounging about in the sun, but these guys in particular were very playful!
Franz Josef is one of two glaciers on the Southern Island. We wore heavy socks, boots, and crampons to climb up a very steep hill. Once we reached the top, we saw a beautiful ice formation. This is a video of one of the ice caves we climbed through on Franz Josef.
BUNGY! This is the original site where Bungy Jumping was created. AJ Hackett began his business in 1988 and has a 100% success rate! Andrew and I did the jump off of Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown, which was 43 meters high! (About 130 feet!)
