By Amanda Krom (Nursing ‘19)
It’s our 6th day in New Zealand! Everyone is having a blast and our group is turning into a family. We had a very eventful day today. First, we drove to Matamata to visit the famous movie set, Hobbiton. Second, we drove to Rotorua to experience the Maori culture in an authentic way. Thirdly, we got to see some of New Zealand’s most famous geological features; geysers and mud pools.
Hobbiton was a magical place. I’ve never seen anything like it! The Hobbiton movie set was made on the Alexander family farm and is approximately 1250 acres. There are 26 different species of animals living on the farm, including the 13,000 sheep they have. The person who created the movie was Peter Jackson and he was extremely attentive to detail. The 44 hobbit holes on the farm are all unique and heavily detailed. 300 million dollars went into making this movie. Our class walked through the mysterious gardens of Hobbiton for a bit and then we wandered to the Green Dragon for some brews as a family.
Next, we drove to Rotorua to experience the Maori culture and learn more about them. The Maori people are extremely talented and interesting. We first learned how they used the resources around them for shelter, clothing, weapons, etc. For example, the Maori strip fiber from the NZ Flax plant and make rope from it. The Maori love to carve wood and weave. The Maori carve things like whale bones and jade to make jewelry, weapons, or utensils. The Maori also enjoy tattooing. It is not unusual for a person of Maori heritage to have a specific patterned tattoo that traces back to their ancestors. We also watched the Maori perform song and dance for us. The Maori used dance as a way of intimidating their enemies in war and preparing their bodies for fighting. They taught us their traditional dances, the Haka (the men do this) and the Poi (the women do this). We also got to see a Kiwi while we were here. No, I am not talking about the fruit. The Kiwi is New Zealand’s National bird and it is endangered. There are only 58,000 Kiwi left and this number is steadily declining. Next, we had a Maori dinner. It was amazing sitting at a table with all of our classmates eating authentic Maori foods. The Maori cook their food underground over hot coals and then retrieve it hours later. The food was so delicious, we overstuffed ourselves. I’m pretty sure half the class had to unbutton their pants after the meal.
The last thing we did for the day was my favorite! We checked out New Zealand’s hot springs, geysers, and mud pools. The country has amazing and unique geological features. The geothermal areas are only 15 kilometers above magma! The water is around 90-95 degrees Celsius. Geysers are only found in a few places in the world. The geyser we saw today is the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere. The water is also full of over 25 rich mineral deposits that are great for the skin! The Maori used the mud from the hot mud pools to treat arthritis and related diseases because the mud has heat for up to 90 minutes. The Maori believe that everything has a life force and this is why water shoots from a hole in the earth’s crust to form a geyser that is alive. Our class walked through the steamy paths of NZ to arrive at this incredible geyser. We watched it shoot water into the air. We also saw the bubbling mud pools spurting out clay.
No comments:
Post a Comment