The Second Week of the Carnie Caravan

Monday brought more showers and crappy weather just in time for us to get on the road back into van camping NZ style.... Sweet As... NOT!

The instuctors on the boat in tutukaka were using this term  Sweet As...a lot...and i've taken notice to it since its very similar to a favorite phrase of mine.. coined by a college buddy and another Classic Individual whom I shared many great times and have tons of stories of, his term...Sweet Ass. Come to think of it he went to graduate school in Christchuch ...so maybe he changed sweet as..to sweet ass? I will have to remember to ask him when i get back. It wouldn't be out of the norm of possabilities since he also liked calling moguls on a ski mountain "ramps" which always gave much enjoyment and laughter to my friends in CO... Hell i could write pages upon pages about the funny stuff that has happened not only around my good friend Dr. Volcano (Chris Gregg)  but any one of my friends from college...as well as CO and NC.  Ive always matained how lucky ive been with friends and the pertpetuation of "making fun" again....probably sounding like a broken record with this but I barely know where I am from day to day!

More on the make fun term at a later time.
We decided to hit the maori strong hold of the north island the lake town of Rotorua. It was created and surrounded by historic volcanos responsible for some magnificant explosions through the years and the landscspe for which this territory has been a staple for tourism dating back into the early 1800's.

The rain made for a long day however, it did stop long enough to let us find and get hooked up into a holiday park near town.

We made a run to the grocery store for the week and got some food to grill out that evening. While checking out i overheard two old ladies standing beyond the cashier talking about last nights all blacks match.  Easily passable for well seasonned grandparents...they were greatly concerned about the kiwi's production and the injuries mounting as the tournament wore on....as two more veterns were lost after the quarter final win. The biggest being 100 game cap Miles Muli Ani....im sure im murdering his name but will have to look up and correct later.

Regerdless the concern and the commentation comming from these two old gals was classic...its just yet another testiment to the all encompassing support and love for the all blacks.  I had also meant to write about this topic before...the matches we've attended you really notice how many women not only attend the matches but know their rugby.  It far out weighs anything i've seen before... and is altogether amzing in its own right.  Its the polar opposite of what goes on in the US where girls are programmed to know more about fashion or entertaiment versus sports which is a guy thing...which is intresting since SO many more girls are active and play sports in the US than anywhere else in the world....but i guess whats around you...here its Go The All Blacks all the time... in the states its marketing and selling goods geared to age and sex specific groups....ever read what is headlined in magazines in supermarket lines or constantly on TV?  My favorite is the newest marketing stategy by the NFL to sell EVEN more gear/make more money  by offering Women Specific Jerseys, Sexy Cut Off Tee Shirts or Pajamas with their favorite team logos and of course the NFL insignia proving its authentic!  There are definitely no fantasy football leagues for women here in NZ! Hey maybe there's a marketing idea for the NFL world wide folks?  Anyway the suport and knowledge down here is impressive by the women and they would have no problems in a fantasy league of rugby.

The next day we planned to hit up the authentic maori village known as Te Puia which means fortifeid village. Probably by the many geothermal hotsprings that dotted the town and added to the rugged lanscape.  We were happy to see the rain subside for a while as it would allow for easier treking around outside. It was expensive for park entry but  we figured worth the full day of touring and history that it would provide.

I will have some great video to add to youtube of tradtional maori song and dance as well as the haka  and my favorite the welcoming. There is a special process visitors must go through in order to enter the villages gathering place which is like a town hall. Used for meetings and celebrations it is also sacred and taken seriously. You have to first be courdially invited then offered a fern leaf....sized up by one of the warriors then given acceptance. they then sing and blow horns welcoming you in...you have take your shoes off then sit and enjoy.

The performances were amazing and well worth the price of admission.  We were pretty tired and needed some fueling up, so decided to hit up the cafe and eat some lunch before embarking on the rest of the tour and site walk.

Afterwards feeling much better we got in on a tour of some the cultural teachings and active workshops onsite that educate and keep going the marori culture not only to those who visit, but also certain students that are awarded the chance to study here.

These carvings were just as amazing in person as they are in pictures. The coolest part I thought was the oyster shells they used for the eyes.  These staffs and poles all tell stories, and I can only imagine the coolness and depth to which they illustrate the morals and ways of living back then... and I guess even today for this really vibrant island people.  I constantly was thinking of another buddy of mine from college who is extremely talented with wood carving and art... he would love to see this and have a great experience down here... I will definitely have to email him and tell him all about this place.   Check out his work which is bought and posted all around the world. 

http://www.bradsells.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

Pretty cool to think Rugby is pretty much the way I met Brad at Tennessee Tech, his older brother was the teams player / coach... and brad and i hit it off immediately sharing the same sense of humor as well as love of sport.  Come to find out later he was this crazy artist...and I ended up taking some clay / studio art classes with him off campus at a wonderful facility that almost no one knows about....

http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/home/

I guess that's because a top notch engineering school isn't supposed to have such a kick ass art facility...but the nature of area lends itself to nothing else.  We had a blast those couple of semesters heading up there to take class... it was a nice break from campus life and the town...it took about 20 minutes to drive to and among some of the most beautiful vistas and turns that led to the site on a lake in the middle of the Cumberland Platau Escarpment!  

Guess Im a bit off topic, but its cool how trips of this nature take you back to other places and times...that you may have not thought of as a trip or a vacation....but maybe they should have been!  The further I get away from it...the more I appreciate and the more I understand how great my time was in college...much of it was a vacation, come to think of it... in terms of my life early and late.  It was no doubt one of the best times in my life....and much like this vacation or set of circumstances for which I am traveling will no doubt produce similar memories down the road and later in life.   I think a lot about the people I have met along the way... and how I am in a different phase of my life... maybe from those that I met...or just in general.  Like the friends made on the surf tour.. I think what I am trying to explain pertains to them mostly.  Its really cool to think about their journeys and how they see things.  I appreciate it, because I was in that same mode of opperation not so many years ago.  Only difference... I was at university in Cookeville, TN... or out of school in Denver, CO.   Two places that are very far and very different from Austraila or New Zealand... but .... Are They???   It's all in your memory or in the way you see things.   I will have to explore this more and explain in greater detail later... as I think I may be repeating some of my thoughts covered while writing during and after the surf tour...   anyway...

I enjoyed the cultural experience thus far and learning cool things about how the Maori people lived and survived.   Simple things like making cloths from Flax plants.  Which I thought may be the same thing where Flax seed /oil comes from... regardless, it was cool to see how they used an oyster shell to strip the palm and then work it to get the fine hairs seperated only to combine them all in a fashion which to use for weaving or sewing.   Amazing how simple something can be yet work so funtional...and be used for so many different things!

This was becoming a long day since we had gotten up pretty early...but Hanky and Roffe wanted to soldier on...there was plenty of outdoor stuff to see and experience...and the weather was cooperating.  Lots of Sulpher springs and boiling mud pits... and you could see this was important and/or spirutual place for the Maori's.

I was pretty much exausted and burned out from a full day of walking around and sight seeing, so when It came time to leave I shut down a bit... I think the tour / vacation is starting to wear me down.  Hanky and Roffe wanted to hit another park... and nature preserve that had kiwi birds running around.  We saw a few kiwi's in Te Puia but it was in a small dark cave that had them behind enclosed glass... you had be very very quiet and still to catch a glimpse of them....and still the Chinese that were on tour couldn't resist to squak loudly and take photos...even though there were signs everywhere forbidding these actions.   Tired grumpy and clearly not in the mood to deal with this ridiculous squakers anymore....when we left I decided to bail on the plans to see the other kiwi birds and nature preserve. 

Instead I got some more food a pint and then watched some provincial boys academies play rugby in the park in the center of town.  It was a good break and enjoyable as always to watch kids play rugby.

The two squads one from North Shore...up by Auckland...and the other a local outfit in Rotorua were faced paced and put on lots of points in the muddy conditions....not much interest was paid to tackling, so...the game went by fast.

Soon Hanky and Roffe were back and met me in the park.  They informed me they had gotten touch with one of their Swedish friends who was visiting (apparently he used to live in this area and play rugby some years ago) and they were going to meet us here.

That sounded nice and entertaining....and as it turned out, there was a local with them who ran a local river rafting company, who offered for us all to go to his house to eat diner.  New Zealand is a good place!