Pikitu Marae

Pikitu Marae

Last week Walker's school class had the honor and privilege to be invited to the Pikitu Marae for an overnight stay.  A marae is a sacred Maori meetinghouse used for such things as family meetings, get togethers and funerals.   The school was so kind to also invite Abigail to go with them as a learning opportunity for her and something for her to experience while she was here. 

The kids went to school in the morning and then boarded a bus with all their bedding in tow shortly their after.  They spent the entire day at the Marae learning about the history and ancestry of that specific Marae, the waka (canoe) that the Pikitu people used, learned how to play maori games that the children would have played, the boys learned the haka and how to cook a hangi.


All ready to go!

Later that night Cordell, Kristy (my sister who was visiting from the states), my younger boys and myself went to eat dinner with everyone.  They invited us to come and partake in the hangi with them and to see where the kids have been all day and where they would be staying.  They also allowed Cordell to spend the night with some of the other parents as something for him to experience too.  Really, this school has been so great to our family.  It's truly an honor not only be invited and welcomed to a Marae but to sleep in one is something that is unforgettable.  We are so thankful to the kind Pikitu people for allowing us to come to their Marae and giving us a detailed tour of the history and usage of their land.  It was truly remarkable and humbling.



Enjoying the feast together.

In front of the Pikitu Marae.

A Fun Filled Week for Sure

My sister was here all week and that pretty much kept us busy tearing up the town/NZ!  If you know my sister and me then you are aware of how much fun we can have together.  Her week here started out GREAT (read previous post if you don't believe me) and it didn't stop there.  We took her to some of our favorite sights as well as some new ones.  We had picnics on the beach, visited the glow worm caves, went on beautiful drives and saw some great sights like the diverse greenery, waterfalls and rivers.  We spent some time hanging out on the back porch reading, hanging out with the kids and going to the temple together.  It was a great week and we loved having her here!

Then the weekend came.  That's when we do most of our main activities because we have the time to get out of our small town and venture out a little more.  Sure my sister Kristy and I did our fair share of driving all over the place (I'm still amazed I am able and confident to drive this country now), this weekend was no exception.  Friday we picked up half of the family that had been staying at a Marae (I'll write about that later) and we all went to Rotorua.  It's not too far from our town and is one of the major tourist cities in New Zealand.  It's known for all their mineral, mud pools and hot springs.  They also have cultural attractions and events as well as any and all kinds of activities for adventure and thrill seekers.  This is the place where we had gone earlier to swim in the mineral pools.  We went to a place called "Hell's Gate" and I'll tell you what.  If this is what hell is going to be like, I only pray to be saved from a place like this or hope that it's this pretty at the same time. 

Hells Gate is Rotorua's most active geothermal park and is known as the "AWESOME BEAST" of New Zealand Geothermal attractions. Hells Gate has boiling hot pools and erupting waters with temperatures that reach over 212 degrees Fahrenheit; hot water lakes; New Zealand's largest active mud volcano and Southern Hemisphere's largest hot water fall.  There is a lot of history among the land where the native Maori people would cook food in the clear hot water pools, bathe in the water fall after wars to heal their wounds, and use different mud to cure illnesses.  It was an awesome site to see.  A stinky one with the hot steamy sulfur but amazing that holes from the earth were open and steaming with boiling liquid or mud.  It's just incredible.

After being able to walk around to see the different pools, lakes and mud areas we stopped off to learn how to carve wood at the wood shop.

Enter if you dare!

Darers go first!

 

He's instructing me how to carve.

 

Then we relaxed in the hot mud bath to clear any impurities from our bodies that the mud was said to do.  It was soooo smooth and warm and has left our skin super soft for days. 

Enjoying the smooth mud.

After cleaning up from that we headed off for our dinner "show" down the road.  We went to an amazing authentic Maori village nestled in the Rotorua forest, where they demonstrated Maori art forms, ancient rituals and traditions.  They did their traditional songs and dances, and then had a huge hangi (a traditional maori feast that is cooked underground).  It was so beautiful and a bit scary for the kids to see the history of their culture. 

Enjoying the Hangi feed.



So all in all it was a great Friday of Maori culture in Rotorua.  It's a gorgeous city with so much history and we could have spent all weekend there but sadly we had to move on.

Saturday we worked our way back up to Auckland but not before stopping in Hamilton for a picnic and to view the breath taking Hamilton Gardens one more time.  I wish I could live there or have the entire place as my backyard.   

Then we drove up to Auckland and just HAD to do another touristy thing.  We visited the Sky Tower which is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere.  No, we did not walk around the outside of it, no we did not jump off of it; we just took the elevator up and enjoyed the view.  It's a great panoramic view of all of Auckland.  On the outer perimeter it has partial glass floors so you can look down.  It was pretty cool or scary depending on your thrill level.  The kids took time warming up but then they had fun with it.

Looking through the glass floor.

Pretending she's falling through.

He had to do it too.  This one turned out freaky!

They are not afraid of the edge!

Then we had to say goodbye to Kristy at the airport and goodbye to another great weekend.  We were all pooped by then and were ready to get home and crash.  I'm sure she felt the same.  Thanks for coming to visit and if anyone else wants to come then I'm sure we can be good tour guides.  Let me know if you enjoy thrills (bungy) or like the leisure (reading on the patio under the hot sun) way of doing things.