Experience the warmth of our people during an evening of ceremonial rituals, powerful cultural performance, storytelling & hangi feasting!
One of the things that I was most looking forward to about visiting New Zealand was getting to know a little more about the Maori culture. I had heard little pieces of information about the indigenous people of this beautiful place, and was interested to learn more. Although Maori people make up more than 14% of the population of New Zealand, it is still difficult to get much history about the culture, short of just asking someone.
Then we heard about the Tamaki Maori Village in Rotorua. We quickly signed up for this unique learning experience.
Our bus arrived at our hostel right on time and we were greeted by both the driver and a guide. As we made our way to the village, the passengers formed a tribe and our bus became an ancient canoe that we paddled along the way. A chief was chosen to represent our group and the guide gave us important information about how the Maori people came to be the first inhabiters of New Zealand.
Upon entering the village, three Maori warriors came make sure our tribes came in peace. Once it was established that we meant no harm to the village, we were invited in.
Inside the gate, the village stands much like Maori villages once did. Groups are free to tour around and watch presentations about village life and even participate in a few dances and games if they like. Maori history and culture is alive and well here.
The group was then lead to an outside pavilion area where our dinner was being cooked via geothermal heating in a pit! We watched as lamb, chicken and vegetables were pulled from the ground, smoking hot and smelling amazing!
While dinner was prepared, we were treated to a show like no other. The warriors and women of the tribe put on demonstration after demonstration to show us everything from how to keep rhythm during dances, to how to kill an enemy with a wooden paddle. Photography was encouraged, but who could take their eyes away from this spectacular exhibition?
After a short video about even more Maori history, we were ushered into the dining hall for a feast! The very food we saw pulled from the pit earlier had been prepared, along with other treats, and was set out buffet style before us. I’m a little bit of a picky eater, but there was nothing I didn’t LOVE about this dinner. When desert came, it was more of the same homemade goodness, including a new favorite, Pavlova!
When all hearts and bellies were full, we set off from the village to return to the modern world. Our driver led us on several sing-a-longs that made the time pass all too quickly.
In the end, this was one of my favorite experiences of our travels so far, and is sure to become a fantastic memory of our trip to New Zealand. If you’re visiting New Zealand, I encourage you to give this experience a try. You certainly won’t regret it!
If you want to check out this fantastic experience, you can check out their website here. The tour lasts 3 1/2 hours and they will pick you up from your hotel or hostel. They are awesome about giving discounts, so be sure to check with them beforehand or check with your accommodation staff. You’ll need to book at least a day beforehand and the tours are available 7 days a week. We also highly recommend skipping lunch on the day of your tour! Please let us know if you go!
]]>As I mentioned in our last Travel Photo Of The Week post, New Zealand looks like the world may have looked thousands of years ago. This weeks travel photo is a prime example of that. We took a hop on, hop off bus tour of the entire country and one of the stops the bus let us see where these awesome vivid blue pools while driving though the Haast Pass in the South Island.
The driver told us there would be some very beautiful blue glacial water pools coming up, but we had no idea of the vibrancy to expect. These pools are about a 15 minutes round trip walk off the road and well worth the visit. We were told that the blue of the water is caused by the almost microscopic rock particles and debris that the glaciers scrape up as they move along the valley floor which are then carried by the glacial streams and rivers. This debris reflects the sun and gives off the vibrant blue color you can see in the picture.
The water in New Zealand is amazingly clean and clear, and even drinkable right from the river in a couple places. Some of the glacial water has been frozen for a couple thousand years or more, so again, you are able to see the earth as it might have been a couple thousand years ago.
Click image to view larger or to purchase a print
Photo taken using Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical [IF]
Travel Photo Of The Week Sponsored By Tamron USA.
For more information about Tamron and the lenses we use, check out our sponsors page here.
]]>We are currently finishing our travels in New Zealand and let me encourage and persuade you that if you have not been to New Zealand before, you should put it on your bucket list and make it out here before you die. This place is amazing; so wild, beautiful and clean. It feels like seeing the earth a couple thousand years ago before factories, skyscrapers, garbage and pollution existed. The rivers and streams are clear as glass, some with even a vibrant blue tinge to them. The air is crisp and clean. The sunlight is strong and unhindered by smog or soot from too many cars, homes and people. The trees are large, plentiful and healthy. There must be more moss and ferns in New Zealand than in the rest of the world combined. You can visit and walk around on Glaciers right next to rain forests. You can check out thermal pools of strange colors, boiling mud pools and even a few geysers. You can wear shorts and a t-shirt and look up to see snow covered peaks or ancient glaciers high above. I am telling you, this country is breathtakingly beautiful and well worth a visit.
While visiting the North Island, we met up with some friends of ours that we had gotten to know in Korea. They left a couple months before us, did some traveling around Asia and then headed to their home in New Zealand to settle down and start a Photography and Design company. It was great to see some close friends and catch up for a couple days while also getting an inside look at New Zealand and some local insights into what it’s like to live here.
One of the highlights of our time with David and Vicki was a 10 hour hike across the Togararo Crossing. This is quite a unique landscape with lots of lava rocks and other volcanic features. Many of the landscapes on and around the hike were used as the backdrop for Mount Doom in The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. Toward the beginning of the hike we came across this little waterfall which I thought might make a great extended exposure image. Extended exposure just means that I kept the shutter open for as long as possible – in this case, 20 seconds. That is what gives the water its smooth look and the clouds a little bit of motion.
Click image to view larger or to purchase a print
Photo taken using Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical [IF]
Travel Photo Of The Week Sponsored By Tamron USA.
For more information about Tamron and the lenses we use, check out our sponsors page here.
TECHNICAL INFO: For this shot I used what is called a Neutral Density filter and my awesome travel tripod – the Velbon UT 43D provided by One Source Network. The Neutral Density filter is basically a dark piece of glass which allows you to keep the camera shutter open for long periods of time which would usually not be possible in broad daylight. To create this image I used an ND 1000 which adds ten f-stops or levels of darkness. I used a timed shutter release of ten seconds to make sure my hand didn’t cause any shake in the image and made sure my tripod was set up nice and sturdy.
]]>What is Animoto?
Animoto allows you to create stunning movies from your pictures and text. We tried it out for this movie as well as some we made for our moms on Mother’s Day and we really liked it.
Just upload your pictures, select some music, put in some text and it takes care of the rest. It really couldn’t be any easier. You have to pay to make a video longer than 30 seconds,to download the video and/or for higher quality video. But, if you just want to share a 30 second clip online it is free and their prices are reasonable if you want more options. We just paid for a month and then cancelled instead of having a yearly membership. We may do the same thing in a couple more months once we have some more ideas and pictures to share. Check it out here and let us know what you think.
New Zealand, known by many as the adventure capital of the world, is certainly not short on things to do. From the highest peaks to under the water, here’s eight adventures to have in New Zealand.
Photo by Dave Appleby
Glacier walking
New Zealand’s Fox and Franz Joseph glaciers are two of the most accessible floes of ice in this world. So accessible, in fact, that you can do half- or full-day hikes on them. Budget travellers will want to hike up, while those with a bit more coin can add a scenic helicopter ride in then down some champagne while standing on a moving river of ice.
Photo by Natalie Downe
White water rafting
The spray, the screams, the hard paddling as you manouver around outcrops. White water rafting certainly gets the blood flowing. New Zealand’s pristine environments and great safety record make it a top choice for your first attempt and for experienced rafters.
And New Zealand is one of the few places in the world you can raft class five rapids on a tour. Awesome.
Black water rafting
From fast and furious to slow and scary: black water rafting will take you through underground rivers carving through limestone caves. Semi-submersed in a wetsuit and innertube, you’ll be able to stare up at magnificent constellations of glow worms on the rocky ceiling.
Bungy jumping
The world’s first commercial bungy site is at the scenic and historical Kawarau Bridge, just outside of Queenstown. Another 25 minutes down the road is the world’s second highest bungy, the Nevis. This 134 meter drop hangs from a wire between two mountains … It’s a long way down. You could also jump off Auckland’s iconic landmarks: the Skytower and the harbour bridge, and half a dozen other things around the country.
Photo by Kimbo
Heli-skiiing
Jumping from a helicopter into fresh virgin snow is some people’s idea of a good time. If it’s yours, then winter is a prime time to get down to New Zealand. The best thing? New Zealand’s winter is from June through August so there’s no reason our northern hemisphere friends can’t jump down here and ski all year round. With many countries part of the Working Holiday program, you might be able to fund all the fun by working on the slopes.
Photo by Alex Massengale
Tramping
No, not looking homeless! Tramping is New Zealand slang for hiking, and with 14 large national parks and dozens of nature reserves there’s great opportunities to get out and about in the wild. There are thousands of tracks with facilities varying between nice huts and catered food to a flat bit of grass and a river running beside it. You can really choose your own adventure, or just drive 45 minutes from any central business district and find yourself immersed and alone with the waves, wind and birdlife.
Photo by sturmjah
Diving
New Zealand is also home to 25 marine reserves, where no marine life can be taken without heavy punishments. This makes swimming with the fishes a whole new experience as they school past you in great numbers. There’s also some pretty nifty snorkling to be done when the water is at waist hight if SCUBA isn’t your cup of tea.
Mountain climbing
The country that Sir Edmund Hillary grew up in isn’t short of interesting climbs. While the highest mountain, Mt Cook, only sits at 3,754 metres (12,316 ft) high, it has three challenging peaks to summit with two glaciers heading down the sides. For the more casual climber, there are great spots for a jaunt within some city boundaries, and plenty of walls to explore.
There are dozens of innovative adventure sports we haven’t listed, from the Schweeb to the Zorb, but I guess you’ll have to come down for a visit.
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