Waitangi Day

Today was Waitangi Day, and I decided to stay in the Bay of Islands for this event since Waitangi is in the next bay from Paihia. It was quite a show. People poured in and there were food stalls and cheap vendors everywhere.

Bronson and I started off inside the treaty grounds, walking through the morae or meeting-house. It was beautifully maintained. Then we walked through the very English grounds and into the courtyard of the treaty house. It was most interesting to see how the house had been renovated over the years to become a quaint seaside residence where for a little while the government of New Zealand had its power.

We headed down through the grounds and across the bridge to the beach where several waka or war canoes from all over the country had come to celebrate. There were several rounds of hakas, lots of bare-chested men and boys calling upon their ancestors for the races that afternoon. Wandering through the stalls, Bronson caught a whiff of pauas and cream so we stopped for lunch. It was surprisingly good, just a thick soup with a chunk of bread to sponge up the last bits. I also had a steak, cheese and onion sandwich from another stall.

Back inside the treaty grounds there was a stage with performances throughout the afternoon. We caught two different groups who had put together a series of folk songs, traditional hakas, as well as original songs and hakas. We also heard a young boy perform several show tunes. He had just returned from performing at a theater in London. The best act was a local comedy group. While I didn't understand the political jokes (I laughed once I heard the back story) the two men and three ladies ingeniously danced around in tutus and were hysterically in-sync with their audience. It was such a pleasure to see a bit of Kiwi culture.

What I have found interesting is the way that the New Zealand government and people truly try to integrate native Maori culture in with the impeding European settlers. In many ways, the majorly British influences have taken over, but there is an extremely active struggle to make sure the Maori people are not forgotten. Native Americans back home do not have the government spending so much time interested in them, and I would be astonished to see a Native American political party like there is a Maori Party in New Zealand. It was definitely worth postponing my travel plans to celebrate this day in its birthplace.

A Tribute to Guy Harvey

I've been traveling or 4 months now, which is ironic to call it traveling at all as I've spent all but two weeks of that time in Paihia. Today, I found myself pulling out my sewing kit to repair another item that had been a victim to life in New Zealand. The sewing kit I have is from the Astor Hotel in Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece. Funny how trips connect themselves together...

While staying at the Mousetrap, I had the unfortunate duty of fixing my leggings which had ripped on the edge of my bunk bed as I fell off one night to brush my teeth. Now, I had chinos with a missing button from camping last weekend and the horror of finding a hole in my beloved Guy Harvey t-shirt while doing this weeks washing.

Guy Harvey has become a symbol of not only the boating world but a pride of the South. Several times I've gotten compliments from local yachties who recognize the artist even in little Paihia. Last year at Elon we had two fraternities do Guy-styled t-shirts for their formal weekends, it was quite the drama to see who was more Southern even though mos students at Elon are from above the Mason-Dixon line.



This shirt has a special place for me not for either of these reasons. I tracked mine down in a dark corner of a souvenir shop in Boca Raton two years ago on Spring Break with my bffs. Instead of a marlin or swordfish, it has the Florida lighthouses depicted: Cape Canaveral, Pensacola, Key West, Jupiter Inlet and St. Augustine. I lovingly patched one of my favorite shirts so now it looks a bit like an appendectomy patient. I'll have to spend some time searching for a replacement on eBay and a craft to save the threadbare fabric from Good Housekeeping when I get home. It sure would be fun if we could get GH to make a Bay of Islands line, the locals would throw him a pretty good party for it.

A Beached As Christmas

Despite my reservations about being alone for Christmas, I had a surprisingly good day down under. Christmas Eve, I spent four hours baking and getting in the holiday spirit: a chocolate cake with Betty Crocker vanilla icing and M&Ms, butter cookies with frosting and sprinkles, cream cheese cookies, an angel food cake, and sugar cookies with M&Ms, all from scratch. This is very impressive for me, as I've never made a cake from anything but a box. Regardless of my feat, I would still kill for a box of funfetti cake mix. 

On Christmas day, I got to do exactly what I wanted. I found some friends from the Pipi Patch and chilled on the beach. We ate cookies, played volleyball, and went for a fantastic dip in the sea. We even got some killer group photos, including a successful all-8-of-us-in-the-air shot. 

When I got home, my roommates  Marie-line (from Montreal) and Avia (from Christchurch) and I had a sweet dinner: baked chicken with sun-dried tomatoes and brie, brown-sugar glazed carrots, and pesto and garlic pasta. We split a bottle of New Zealand Merlot wine and cut into the cake. 

Everything was delicious and it was so nice to relax and have a low-key day. 

 

 

Then, my friend Bronson, got a puppy for Christmas, just like every kid dreams about. I got to go over and play with Bones, and watch a bit of Phantom of the Opera, since there wasn't a Christmas film on tv. He is the cutest puppy ever. I want one :) 

 

One of the fun Christmas traditions down under is Christmas crackers. Inside is a paper crown, a slip of paper with a joke, and hopefully a toy. Clearly, Brons and I did not have to fight over who got the elastic bracelet that came out of my cracker. And he's the only one I know who would wear a pink, blue, and yellow plaid hat, with a paper crown on top. 

 

All in all, Christmas was pretty good. It was fun to be with other people who just wanted to hang out, and Heather in Room 6 at Pipi even shared some holiday spirit. Her mom sent over gifts from Canada including these precious packs of white cotton candy sold as 'Santa's Beard.' Definitely something else to import for Christmas in the future.