A Maori adventure

30/1/12- 3/2/12 Monday-Friday and some fancy dress!

Well it was a rather uneventful week. We worked, gymed and had friends over for dinner. One exciting trip out was to the fancy dress shop to rent our Art deco weekend outfits. Oh I am in the wrong era. I want to be in the 20's the clothes were fantastic and even if I do say so myself both James and I looked rather splendid in our chosen outfits. What What old thing. Tally ho!

4/2/12- 6/2/12 A Maori adventure

Tory took us on a trip to where he grew up and to meet his family. On the way we stopped to buy an enormous amount of meat for our POYA. More on that later. Once on the road Tory gave us our instructions for meeting his family. Don't leave things unlocked. never lend your stuff out, say no if you want to and don't drink too much. Oh my what had we signed our self's up for or was Tory being over the top? Well we would find both to be true.

Upon arriving at his sisters house we found her in the aunties garden (every is related) drinking beer. This was an intense introduction to Maori lifestyle as drinking was the main item on the agenda. I also let slip that I worked for Housing New Zealand and alas the garden of the house we were sitting in belonged to them. Oh well skirting round that topic and agreeing not to mention the 3 dogs to to corporation on my return to work. Now Tory does not exactly fit in to the general Maori family way. He does not drink, is very slim and is a gay as the day is long. That said he is still an uncle and the children will respect him and he bosses them around in accordance with his status.

Post meeting the family we were off to the tribal hot pools. Now being local and part of the tribe Tory knew an aunty working on the door so we got in for free. The other tourists and outsiders all had to pay! So before long we were reclining in a private hot pool socking up to our necks in natural hot springs. Next up was a trip to the UruPa which is the cemetery for Maori people. Here we visited Tory's granddads grave which was due to be unveiled shortly. Now an unveiling is the erecting of a head stone about a year after death to allow for grieving to take place. Unfortunately his wife was not ready and the ceremony was 2 years overdue. Leaving the cemetery we washed our hands and flicked wather over our heads to stop the spirits following us. The next stop was the family marae. This building is the hub of the community where ceremonies and events take place. Tory complain that his marae was in need of some renovation and needed the TV show DIY Marae to do its good work there.

The evening was spent and Nana Sarah's house out in the country. Nana is a strong and aging matriarch who Tory was clearly close to. She has live on the farm since the 1950's where her husband managed the farm station. A huge expanse of farmed land. Much of the family life revolved around the farm including all the kids and grand kids taking there turn in the wool sheds or shearing.

The next day was the much talked about poya which is a traditional way of cooking using that lands natural resources namely steam from the geothermal activity in the area. The huge quantity of meat is wrapped in oven bags along with whole chickens and vegetables and steam puddings. All the food is placed in a metal crate and then taken out to the hot spring pits. The cage is lowered into the hole, covered with blankets and weighted down with wood. Some four hours later it is cooked and amazingly no one has stolen your food, in fact someone had opened up our pit and added there own food for cooking. Once cooked the crate is collected and retuned to the family house for the feast. Word of such an event spreads quickly within the family and a whole host of aunties and cousins arrive to join in the Kia (food). When buying the meat I thought we would have far too much but alas much was eaten and the rest used the next day for breakfast.

Post feed it was time for a nap back at nanas' before Tory and I headed to the lake leaving James to recline at the farm. The lake is normally calm but the wind was up and there waves sizable but in homage to Hilary I striped down and swam the 200 meters to the pontoon and back. Cold yes, but fun never the less. Tory did not quite see it that way and opted to hold my towel. The evening was spent looking at old family photos before having a bath the water from which we all 3 of us shared as the boiler did not produce that much.

Next morning it was bright and breezy so Tory and I headed to his old school. Tory donned a pair of gum boots, some shorts, a old hat and coat and looked like he fitted it once more. Not much later he was back in his own creations looking fashionably and fashion student like. After a round of good buys James Tory and I departed from our Maori weekend. Both James and I really enjoyed the experience as meeting the family and engaging in real Maori culture was really rather exciting and made us feel like we had experienced more of New Zealand.

As our time is running short in New Zealand we decided that on the way back to Napier we had really better engage in an activity for which New Zealand is famous... Bungee jumping. I opted for the full on 50m plunge over water and due to James back he opted for the Bunge swing which is swings you in an arc as opposed to you plummeting to earth secured only by your ankles. I was first up and once all harnessed up began to get really rather nervous. On the edge I was told to put my hands above my head and dive into the abyss. I did this rather rapidly thinking the sooner I did it the sooner it would be over. As such Tory missed my jump only managing to take one photo of the event. That said it was an exhilarating and truly terrifying experience. The initial decent caused an involuntary scream of ffffffffuuuuuuuuuuccccccckkkkkkkkk which lasted until I reached the first extension of the cord. Then I was rebounding towards the sky followed by some terrifying weightlessness before heading to the water once more.The boat then came to unhook me by which point I was hyperventilating and frozen solid with fear. After some seconds I was unhooked and being driven to land where I vowed never to do such a things again. James had a similar experience of abject fear and exhilaration and was also of the opinion that this was not going to become the new activity of choice for us both. It is very much Bungee Jump tick Bungee Jump DONE!