Ryan & U'i's Pacific Odyssey: NZ Days 27, 28, 29

June 1

Day – Rotorua Town, Museums, Gift Shops, Church

Night – Lake Otakawa DOC camp site

June 2

Day - Rotorua Town with Hil and JV

Night – Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park

June 3

Day - Rotorua Town, internet business, Drive East

Night – Matata DOC camp site

Thoughts on St. Faith Anglican Church: We were allowed no pictures within the church, but we took pictures on the outside. Hilary was able to get photos from the inside of another church in Tikitiki later on, and both are quite similar. Churches that we visited here in Aotearoa are a blend of cultures…

St. Faith Anglican Church was stunning, reminded me of the hale pule at the Royal Mausoleum in Hawaii. Very native feel with each pew intricately carved, eyes made from paua shell, the walls of the church were tukatuka style with thin wood beams corded together with strands of flax. The ceilings were decorated with Maori symbols of the koru and the stained glassed windows of Maori guardians/ ancestors. Visitors were able to see what it was/would be like within a Maori marae (where tourist are not allowed). Jesus was engraved in one of the stained glassed windows, elevated a bit above the real scenic waters of Lake Rotorua. He was also wearing a Maori cloak of feathers. It was like the two worlds, Christianity and Maori combined in a unique balance. The priestly pulpit had carved Maori guardians holding it upright. It was a beautiful sight. Next to the church stood a traditional Marae that the public was not allowed to go into. There were also many steam vents that even leaked through the sewage waterways and also surrounding hot steam baths. Rock piles spewed out steam and large pipes helped the steam to escape. The locals around the area used/uses the steam for creating heat, energy, and also as a source for cooking.

Te Puia Museum (too expensive to enter, so Ryan and I stayed in the very culturally rich gift shop and learned a lot there!) Out side of the museum was a large kauri tree, which was lying on it’s side. The plaque described how the kauri tree was the land form of the sperm whale in Maori mythology…like how everything is connected in the land and the sea. The plaque began with “Kua hinga te kauri o te wao nui a Tane,” (the kauri has fallen in the sacred forest of Tane) and went on to describe parallels between the kauri tree and the sperm whale. Whale oil was used as a binding agent for paint and oil from the kauri tree was also used for the pigmentation of tattooing (moko). The whale oil was used to anoint the dead and was a core component in Maori medicine. Jawbones from the sperm whale was used for weaponry and also to mark status of high ranking chiefs. The stomach of the sperm whale, like the kauri gum was used for dental hygiene and called “kauri tawhiti” “kauri from a distance.” Kauri and whale oil were both used for fire starting, heating, and lighting.

In the gift shop there were many wood carvings that were created by the students of Te Puia. Ryan and I were overwhelmed with the mana that each craft displayed. We also learned of the art of moko or traditional Maori tattooing. After the design is “chiseled” into the skin, a blue pigment dye is placed in the grooves. It was a unique sight to see many photographs of chiefly men and women, whose faces were intricate moko designs.

Part of the reason we stayed in Rotorua so long was to catch some incoming swells on the East later that week. To be honest, it wasn't what we thought it would be. Too much tourism and focus on "activities". Also everything was sooo expensive. We left on the third day and made it to the Matata DOC park along the ocean. The weather was nasty, bad rains and howling winds, but the temperature outside (and in the van) was much much warmer!