Visiting Hobbiton
Staying in the Whare
Bus Waitomo to Hobbiton,84km, Hobbiton to Rotorua 74km
Total Distance: 2552km
They're taking the Wingham to Hobbiton!
We went to the Shire!
We visited Bag End, and the Green Dragon, and the party tree!!!
Safe to say it was great. We had a large number of Middle-Earth fans on the bus, from a great number of backgrounds. 7 foot British rugby players became children, quiet nerdy Nords strutted about as if they belonged, and we all stood in awe.
Despite all the other nerds, geeks, and fan boys, it was I who managed to answer all of the guides leading questions. (How do none of you recognise this as the place where Frodo meets Gandalf?!?! "You're late" "A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to")
There are all of the little hobbit holes, each showing signs outside of the profession of the hobbit within (cheese monger, potter, wheel wright, etc.)
I can't really describe it. It's HOBBITON. It was so beautiful. Everything is looked after to minute details. They have washing on the lines. The gardens are kept to always look perfect and crops kept in mid-growth by swapping plants around. It's just like it looks in the films all of the time. I want to go again for more photos. I could get a summer job there. Seriously, just looking aft the plants and taking a few tours a day.
We finished at The Green Dragon, the village pub, where we were served a half pint (so sadly no saying "It comes in pints!) from the brewery. They make a pale ale, a nice stout, cider, and ginger beer. The pub, like all of Hobbiton, has a huge amount of detail, down to notes on the wall such as "workers need for harvest" and "LOST green cloak". Having said that, it did remind me significantly of so many lovely pubs in Yorkshire and Cumbria, particularly those up in the hills.
Hobbiton. Go see it. Maybe twice. It's great.
Or go to the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District. Live there. It's great.
Moari Marae Stay!
There are a growing number of chances for tourists to see Moari culture. One of them I saw a week ago at Waitangi, and that was a great show, bringing the place to life, a reminder of the people and culture most effected by the treaty after its signing.
We were set to go to a larger affair in Rororua though. Tamaki was set up years ago by 2 brothers and their family to bring Moari culture, past and present, to life. It is hoped that this will help sustain the cultural heritage of New Zealand in the long run, whilst being enlightening, educational, and entertaining for visitors. Use it or lose it.
Over time there has been a growing interest in this cultural history leading to popularity of the project, large numbers of visitors, and even additional similar attractions in Rororua. But this is the oldest, the original, the best. (*biased source)
Most people go for the show'n'dinner option. Not I! No. Go big or go home. Let's learn about Moari Culture.
The Marae stay option allows people to spend more time at the village, starting mid-afternoon and ending with a lovely breakfast the next morning.
We arrived to be met by a short formal greeting and invitation into the village, sung by one of our hosts. We were introduced to the Whare (Wh=F in Moari, so Fare. Translation: House), which has a carved exterior, with a head by the roof apex, the arm forming the roof, the hands the eaves, and the legs the walls. A Whare is a sacred place of safety and peace, away from the aggression of the world. To this end we were asked no to take any food or footwear in. These are part of the outside world and don't belong in a whare. Moari villages have a seperates place to eat, as well as a different place to hold political discussions.
I imagine keepin food and footwear out also makes keeping the place clean a lot easier!
Our whare was a long, clean, beautiful building. Along each wall stood many single beds, and behind them the walls were decorated with carvings of Moari Guardians. These carvings act to help tell the history of the people, as well as the mythology. The first Europeans called these guardian"Gods", seeing a non-Christian polytheism. In reality the Moari believed in one God who created all, including the guardians, who act like a cross between angels and the European pagan gods. Hence Christianity make a quick and simple transition into Moari culture, giving an identity to the highest God, whilst allowing the guardians to be retained. This has without doubt enabled the mythology to be retained.
Once our food had gone into the kitchen chiller and our gear was by our beds it was time for afternoon tea! There were biscuits and hot drinks, but the best thing was a deep fried bread, with clotted cream and syrup or jam. A bit like a doughnut, but round, the size of a small fist, to be cut in half to add sweet stuff. I hammered a few of them, getting my face nicely covered in cream and syrup as I did. So good. So good.
Moari was one of the things I struggled with when first moving the New Zealand. It's not a heavily used language, not many Kiwis speak it and everything is written in English if it's also in Moari. But place names don't often change, and as well as British names some farms, roads, towns and features have Moari names. What we learnt that afternoon would really have helped my pronunciation!
To the tune of "Stupid Cupid":
(NB Ng: Hard "n" sound, like a British tut. Wh:"f")
A haka mana para tawa ngä whä
E heke mene pere tewe nge whe
I hiki mini piri tiwi ngi whi
O hoko mono poro towo ngo who
A E I O U
U huku munu puru tuwu ngu whu
And that's the Maori alphabet!
Maori words basically alternate consonants and vowels, ends each word with a vowel, hence the word formation in the song. The words don't actually mean anything, but include all the consonants, vowels, and combinations, in the majority of Moari. It's taught to children at a young age, or tourists whenever they are prepared to make a fool of themselves.
There are also dance moves that go with it- which are the basis for the Macarena.
We would be performing A Haka Mana later that night for 200 people.
Next up was flax weaving. Flax fibre is extracted by removing all the green fleshy matter from one specific plant. The dry, light brown strands that remain can be weaved or platted into rope or string, later made into everything from rope, to bags, to baskets, to animal traps, to clothing. It's a very useful, important resource.
But you don't get much fibre from one flax leaf. We were given one each, with a small dried line in it where it had been bent. A mussel she'll was used to scrape from this point in with direction to scrape away the flesh. We were each left with a few strands of fibre.
The Kiwi Experience bus has its own flax rope- a few hundred yards long now! We added our few inches by platting it into the end.
Moari games were designed to train the warriors who would protect the village in later life. Some where to train senses (Simon Says comes from a Moari game, training hearing and the ability to follow instructions), whilst others trained the body. We played two stick games, using broom handle like sticks, about the length of the traditional three-quarter spear (about 4 1/2 feet long) used by warriors.
The first game was a throwing games. There were words that I forget, sorry. Basically the routine went like this though.
Rules: Only the right hand may be used for both throwing and catching.
Physical injuries are expected.
Don't drop the stick!
Everyone has a stick, throwing them at the same time, catching at the same time.
Stamp stick
Lift stick
Throw to the person to your right
Throw to the person to your right
Stamp stick
Lift stick
Throw to the person to your right
Throw to the 2nd person to your right
It took us quite a few attempts. You can't look where you throw, as you have to be watching to catch the stick that's coming towards your face. Plus the last movement requires one to ignore the first stick, catch the second, having just tried to pass your own stick to a different person from the last 3 throws.
The second game was slightly like musical chairs. Everyone has a stick. We stood in a circle. There was a word for right and one for left. Your stick was placed with one end on the ground. At the command your own stick was left standing as you ran to grasp the next one. If you didn't get the in time and the stick fell over you were out. Slightly fewer injuries than the throwing game.
Now was time for everyone else to arrive. We went round to the main village entrance where the coaches were arriving. Each coach had volunteered their Chief, and our little group had Cheif Garry. There was a full scale formal welcome. Two warriors came out of the village wielding spears to assess the visitors, jumping around, shouting, waving their spears in the faces of our chiefs, who did an admirable job of standing still, with hands empty and visible for the warriors to see. Having been declared safe the village chief came out. A peace offering- something from nature- a collection of leaves bound together, was placed before our chiefs and Cheif Garry pointed to. He keep eye contact with our host whilst bending down to pick up the offering, signally that we came in peace. With a shout the village gate erupted in song, as the warriors and women performed. We made our way through the gate up hill, into the small village used to demonstrate aspects of ancient Moari life to tourists.
Several small whares were positioned beneath thickly grown, tall trees, the earth about them packed down. We learnt about training techniques, fighting styles, musical instruments, flax and its uses, games, carving, tattoos, and finally the full show.
We were all gathered together and taken down to a large whare used for performances- theatre seats on one long side, a stage on the other. Here there was a more in depth discussion of village, warrior, and traditional life, as well as performances, such as the Haka and songs.
Then, finally, food!
The Hangi is an "earth-oven"
Dig a big hole, about 1 metre cube, placing the soil to one side.
Light a fire in the bottom of the pit, covering the floor like a barbecue but bigger.
Place volcanic rocks in the fire. These will heat up and hold the heat. Non-volcanic rocks will split and thus waste the heat.
Take a large steel rack, line with tin foil, fill with meat, cover with foil and lower into hole. (Large leaves eg.Banana, were traditionally used, but foil's better)
Repeat with the vegetables.
Cover in wet sack cloth
Top off with the soil
Leave for 3-5 hours as the meat slowly cooks.
The Hangi was used to easily, slowly, cook a large amount of food for celebrations and festivities. They provide tender, succulent food with a smokey flavour. Tonight's buffet included chicken, lamb, stuffing, carrots, Kumara (sweet potato, a native to NZ) and new potatoes. There was also a few pieces not from the Hangi, including fresh fish, salad and the stodgy, slightly sweet, very filling, bread of the Pacific islands. On an all you can eat buffet. After only 1 1/2 plates I was stuffed. How is the food so filling?!? I should have been able to do way more than that! Well, I did get some Kiwi Fruit Pavlova, and some Kiwi Fruit Punch, as well. Kia Ora.
I should have mentioned Kia Ora before now.
Kia, say Quay, as in at the ports for boats.
Ora, say Order, take out the D, now, Or'er- helps one roll the R
It means hello, good bye, and thank you. And if someone says it to you, you say it back. There's not really a translation that fits such a versatile phrase. I guess in Yorkshire a head nod and "Good man/woman" might fit, but nothing in normal English.
"Kia Ora"
"Ki Ora"
"Want some cake?"
"Ooh, yes, Kia Ora"
"Kia Ora."
"See you at the pub tonight?"
"Sure thing bro. Kia Ora"
"Kia Ora!"
After dinner there were a few speeches, a couple of songs then...Us!
Our little tribe of 9 sang A Haka Mana in front of the seated crowd, performing the actions. We'd learnt Moari! A toddler's Moari, but I'll take that.
To finish we did the Haka. The 5 Chiefs present had been trained to do a proper Haka, but the rest of the men were encouraged to join in, so many of us did! There's a video out there somewhere of us performing a slightly ropey, but serviceable, Haka.
And with that everyone else left. We were in the village alone. With a hot tub and a cheaper bar. The next 3 hours was spent drinking Pinot under a starry sky discussing Moari culture, stars, how to whistle, animal noises, student life, and marketing strategy in the international Swedish motoring industry. That's a normal evening for me, some how.
We woke for a lovely breakfast of cereals, toast, marmite, fruit, yoghurt, and coffee, before being taken back into Rotorua.
A great night out, after a great day.
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