Kupe: A Waka Odyssey

A few weeks ago, J and I joined over 20,000 others on the Wellington waterfront to watch Kupe: A Waka Odyssey, the launch of the New Zealand festival. It was an amazing endeavour, involving thousands of people and journeys on traditional boats from as far away as Samoa and the Cook Islands, as well as many parts of NZ. Unfortunately, it was hard to see and we couldn't hear much, so as a spectator sport, it was a bit difficult, but you can't have everything.

I took some pictures, which I'll share here, but if you'd like to get a much better idea of the event (and be able to see things I couldn't in real life), you can click here for the official video of the event. It is too long to watch the whole thing (and there are rather long periods of inactivity), but I'll suggest specific parts to watch throughout the post. 

The man in blue and gold who talks first is Kupe the first Polynesian explorer to come to NZ. There is some blurring of legend and history in the accounts of Kupe, as well as in the dates when he might have arrived, but he is a strong and inspiring figure when it comes to seafaring, bravery, overcoming the odds, and exploration. The lady in red and gold is his wife, Hine-te-aparangi. You can watch Kupe's kōrero (speech) and Hine-te-aparangi's waiata (song), by skipping to 27 minutes.

I got to the harbour very early to save a spot for J, who joined me later, and saw one of the waka in the little lagoon off the harbour that I love so much.

I also saw hundreds of school children from around the country practicing their haka (traditional war or challenge display), which they performed during the event. It was really cool to see how empowered they all felt to be part of this.

 There were varying degrees of traditional dress, including these beautiful outfits with piupiu (traditional skirts made of harakeke flax).
If you'd like to watch their haka (which we didn't get to see at all in person, as we were too far away), skip to 1:28:30 in the video.

I saw these waka getting into place, and then proceeding regally back during the show, but they actually looked more beautiful at this time of day, with more sun on them. Also, I could hear their chants better then, before there were so very many people.

The harbour is so stunning, and it was inspiring to see these traditional waka in it.

This one really reminded me of Moana's little waka in the movie (although her sail wasn't red).

It's hard to see, but there are kayaks flanking a bigger boat, which is trailing dry ice. The effect was pretty amazing.

We could barely see Kupe from where we were, and we couldn't hear him at all, which was a pity. But I think if we'd been closer to him and the speakers, we wouldn't have been able to see the waka as well, which would have been unfortunate as well.

The next several pictures are of real, traditional seafaring vessels, and some had really just completed voyages from Samoa and the Cook Islands, and some have sailed from other places around NZ. Unfortunately, I don't know which ones are which, but they're all very beautiful, and it's incredible to think of them coming thousands of miles across the ocean!

You can see waka coming in in the video between about minutes 45 and 56.

 At the end, I did wish we had chosen a spot closer to Kupe and Hine-te-aparangi, because all the waka clustered over there, and we couldn't tell what was happening at all. I watched the video later, and learned that that crazy, angular golden waka, with a lady in white on it, is representing a being from across the galaxy who comes to give us a star to guide voyagers to Aotearoa (NZ). Maybe the waka is the star? It's unclear. If you'd like to watch this part, skip to 1:16 in the video.
 As you may know, the traditional Polynesian wayfinders used the stars to guide them as they discovered new islands.  (I know I've mentioned it in other posts, but you should all really watch Moana.) 

For me, this event celebrated many things that I love about the legends and history of the Polynesian peoples around the Pacific, and of NZ Māori in particular. However, it didn't resonate with me the way I was expecting it to. I'm not sure why, but it just didn't quite work for me. If you think you're noticing a lack of enthusiasm in this post... you're right. It's exactly up my alley, but it just missed the mark for me. But others seemed to really like it, and it's wonderful that over 20,000 people came to celebrate Māori and Polynesian history and culture! That I do find wonderful!

Dragons!

Some of you will know, J and I have been considering adopting Guinea pigs for a while. We've always enjoyed having pets, and have missed having a furry friend around since our wonderful dog Holly passed away in late 2015. We've discussed lots of options, and decided after much deliberation that we were ready to be pet parents again, and that Guinea pigs were exactly the right choice. Guinea pigs are very social, and love human company, but should always live in pairs, as they are not happy or healthy on their own. In fact, we learned that it is illegal in some countries to have one Guinea pig by itself. We decided to get a pair as our Christmas presents to each other. We wanted to find some who someone already owned and was trying to find a home for, but after weeks of searching, we'd come up with nothing.

Then one of J's colleagues said there was an adorable brother-sister pair that was 6 weeks old at a little local pet shop in Upper Hutt that doesn't even usually have Guinea pigs, and that we should go get them right away. We went to just have a look, and then immediately fell in love and took them home. Not exactly how we intended it to happen, but that's how it goes. We were hoping for a brother and sister, so I think it was meant to be.

This is Roxim, the brother and J's special friend. He was about 450 grams when we first got him, and has now grown to about 800g. (This picture was taken at about 600g). He's got a gorgeously big, round tummy that we love.

This is Kazul, my beautiful baby girl. She was about 350g when we got her, and was up to about 550g before her surgery, but then went back to 450g as she healed and had to take antibiotics. We were a bit worried and started feeding her special weight-gain foods (like sweet corn and sunflower seeds), and she's up to 600g now, so we're hoping we're back on track. 

For years before we ever even considered Guinea pigs in our lives, we've had these names picked out. They are the names of two dragons in one of J's and my favourite book series, The Enchanted Forest Chronicals. Kazul and Roxim are among our favourite characters in these books, which we've both read multiple times (and both liked before we knew each other, which is amazing, given that they're fairly obscure). So we knew that our next pets would be Roxim and Kazul if at all possible, which is part of the reason we wanted a boy and a girl. And it all worked out.

We brought Kazul and Roxim home and set them up in their little inside habitat that we got at the pet shop, and they were skittish, but did well. They are such cuties!

We also got them a beautiful outdoor hutch, which we built for them because we're such good parents.

Here we have J, great father that he is, modifying their hutch to have an attached base and fences over the doorways. Why, you ask? Well, I'll tell you.

We got our new babies on Saturday, and spent the rest of the day cuddling them and admiring them and falling completely in love with them. Then, on Sunday, we decided to see how they'd enjoy being outside, and put them in their outside hutch. They explored a bit and ate some grass, so far so good. But then when I opened the door to check on them, Kazul bolted right out and disappeared into the undergrowth! I have never been so shocked and horrified! The wooded area you can see all around J in the picture extends for a long ways in multiple directions, with no fences or anything. And little Kazul weighed about 350grams and has no natural defenses or survival skills of any kind. And our neighbourhood is full of outdoor cats! I will let you know now that despite all odds, we did find and rescue her in the end, but not before spending 7 harrowing hours frantically searching and trying not to give up hope. J was alternately helping me to search and monitoring our community Facebook pages, where we'd asked people to keep their cats inside and for any advice on how to rescue her. People were very nice and supportive, and her eventual rescue was as a result of one of their tips, so yay for social media doing some good! I was in the wooded area the whole time, alternately tromping around the incredibly steep hills covered in thick (and often sharp) undergrowth and sitting completely silently in the hopes that she'd move and I'd be able to hear her. The silent moments were even harder, as I struggled to keep from crying. I was wracked with guilt that my momentary lapse in vigilance was going to result in the death of an innocent baby if we couldn't find her soon. I couldn't figure out how to come to terms with that, especially as the hours built up and it became increasingly impossible to believe that we'd find her. After about 6 hours, J said that someone online suggested putting out food (which we'd already done), and waiting with a towel to throw over her if she came out. Apparently, Guinea pigs will feel hidden and safe under the towel, so you can grab them without them running away at unbelievable speeds. I was completely exhausted, and sitting quietly near the food was a technique I could manage, so we tried it. And after an agonizing half hour of inactivity, out popped Kazul from the undergrowth! I was ready with my towel, but before I even moved she was gone again. That might have been the worst moment of it all. But after another 20 minutes, out she popped again. I hurled the towel from quite far away, and it miraculously landed right on top of her. I then launched myself across the hillside, landing with my arms and chest forming a triangle of walls around the bulge in the middle that I hoped ferociously was her and not a vine or something. Too afraid to move in case she could make a break for it, I managed to call J, who came down and reached under my arms and pulled out Kazul! Seriously, it was a miracle! I've never been so relieved! We rushed her upstairs, and neither she nor Roxim went outside again until we'd made their outside hutch fully escape-proof.

After that, I was painfully conscious of the fragility of these little lives, and we still had one more trial to get through - spaying and neutering. In addition to not wanting babies, male Guinea pigs are calmer, happier, and nicer to their fellow Guinea pigs once they're neutered, and females need to be spayed to avoid developing polycystic ovarian syndrome, which can be fatal. So they needed surgery. But general anesthesia on such a tiny creature is not without its risks, and I lived in a fairly high state of anxiety for the several weeks we had to wait until they were big enough and old enough for the surgery. Fortunately, our miraculous luck continued, and they both came through surgery extremely well. Kazul's incision was colossal on her tiny body, and we did have to go back for antibiotics, but she's healing fine now. We took this picture once she was healed enough not to mind being held up like this, so it's hard to tell how intense the incision looked at first, but still, imagine an incision from pelvis to mid chest - that's huge!

We have a wonderful time cuddling our amazing dragons. Yes, somehow our delight in finally getting to bestow our dragon names on real creatures has evolved into our referring to them as "the dragons." I think it started as a bit of a joke, but it turned out to be a glorious indication of how exciting and wonderful we find them, and it stuck.

Randomly during my day at work, I suddenly think, "When we get home, we can cuddle the dragons!" and it brings a smile to my face every time!

At first, they were quite nervous, and needed a lot of reassurance. You can see in this picture that I'm holding food out to her, but she's not taking it. It took time to convince them that we're not as scary as we seem, but they're learning.

You can click here to see a video of Kazul discovering that my giving her food (and cuddles) is a pretty nice thing, also that lettuce is the best! If you turn up the volume, you may be able to hear her adorable bubbling noises, which are awesome!

And click here for a video of them delighting in their outdoor hutch and expressing their youthful enthusiasm for life by running around all over the place. I pretty much managed not to laugh, partially for the benefit of the video, and partially because sudden noises like laughing used to scare them into hiding. Not so much anymore, although they still don't like coughing.

Pretty soon after we got them, I started worrying that their indoor habitat wasn't big enough for them, especially if it was too rainy and/or cold for them to be outside during the day. So after some looking, we found this used cage, and once we removed the top and added a cloth to cover the storage underneath, and rearranged the lounge to accommodate its enormousness, it was perfect. The dragons love it, and now we don't worry if they can't go outside for a few days. Also, it looks like a crib, which is hilarious. Also also, notice the cool, curvy piece of driftwood I found at the beach, and which they love hiding under and climbing on. Also also also, notice the wooden ladder I made for them out of sticks I found in the backyard. They love climbing it, hiding under it, and chewing on it. Grand success.

Click here for a video of Kazul enjoying the ladder (and checking the driftwood for food) and Roxim demonstrating his disinclination to be as adventurous as Kazul when someone is near the cage. He is actually more adventurous than she is when they're out of the cage, and will do almost anything for food, so I'll have to get a video of that at some point. I do realize that they're not doing anything that exciting, but for some reason I can watch them every day and never get tired of it! I just adore having a window into their little lives in their little world.

One day, when the ladder was on the driftwood, we looked over and discovered that Kazul had jumped all the way on top of the house! I wouldn't have thought she could do that! Ever since, she does it from time to time and seems to enjoy it. Roxim did it once, but we think it must have been an accident, because he seemed surprised and unhappy to be up there, and immediately jumped down and hid. Hilarious.

Kazul has also discovered the joys of proper cuddles. When I hold her, she'll often spend a little time exploring around my lap, maybe have something to eat, seem a bit lost, and then appear to remember that if she nuzzles up again my chest, I'll put my arm around her, and then it's the best thing ever. She is so happy when she does this, and even sometimes falls asleep. It's so cute I almost can't handle it!

Roxim has a much more fiery temperament than Kazul, and he and J commiserate about how difficult the world can be and have worked out a system on which they can agree. One of their more adorable pass-times is sharing celery, which they both love. Roxim loves all food (except, inexplicably, courgette/zucchini), and will test anything near him just to make sure it's not edible.

Dad and Lucinda got to meet the dragons when they were here, and of course they loved them, too.

As I believe I mentioned after our trip to the States, I re-did my Whānau (Family) Leaf at work. My children were delighted to learn about the new additions to my whānau, and often admire them in their place on the tree.

I am fully willing to admit that my singular obsession with the dragons is a bit over the top, but I'm okay with that. I thought that I'd enjoy having Guinea pigs as pets, but I had no idea how much delight I would take in them! What a lovely surprise - although I should admit that J told me I would be obsessed before we even got them, so perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised. He's usually right about these things. I don't think I realized how strong and unique their personalities would be, or exactly how good they would be at cuddling. J says that Guinea pigs are the only small rodent pets that really enjoy cuddling with people, and it sure seems to be true! We're very lucky and happy!

Te Marama Mīharo (The Marvelous Moon)

I'm sure many of you knew about and/or saw the Super Moon a few weeks ago, but I found it so inspiring that I thought I'd share my experience. J told me about it and thought I would love to see it, but I was inclined to just go to sleep early because I was on the early shift at work and desperately needed sleep. However, it started being pretty amazing long before it got dark, and then I was sucked in. 

I'd recommend clicking on the pictures to make them bigger, to better see the details of the moon.

It was a fairly cloudy day, and I wasn't sure we'd even be able to see it, but it was so bright that it shone right through the clouds, even when the sky was still light.

As it got darker, I was thankful that there were plenty of clouds, because they actually added to the majesty of the moon as it lit them up and seemed to dodge in and out of them. They were blowing by quite quickly, so it made the scene dynamic in a way that a clear sky could not have.

It is hard to capture in pictures, but it was hard to imagine that this spotlight of intensity was the moon at all. It was so bright! Also, I had never understood what people meant by "the Man in the Moon" until I came to NZ, where I can see him clearly every so often. But even here, I'd never seen him looking so amazing as he did that night.

I think my favourite views were actually when it was behind a thin layer of clouds, but still so clearly shining through.

Blogger continues not to like videos, so I've uploaded one to Facebook, and you can click here to watch it and see the beautiful movement of the clouds.

Zealandia with Dad and Lucinda

Posting once a week is resulting in the dates of my posts being increasingly distant from the dates when things actually happen. I hope this doesn't bother anyone too much, because I don't think that posting more than once a week is something I'm willing to commit to at this stage.

Anyway, this post is still from when Dad and Lucinda were here. We did so many fun things, over a month later I still have lots to write about.

Zealandia is probably my favourite place to take visitors in Wellington, partly because it's so beautiful and inspiring that it's delightful to share, and partly because I always discover something new, so it never gets repetitive for me.

First, we went on Dad and Lucinda's second day here, when it happened to be raining. I'd been told that a drizzly day was the perfect time to come, because that's when lots of the birds are out looking for food. It turned out to be slightly more of a downpour than a drizzle at first, but that was fine, as it's exciting and beautiful to be in the woods in the rain. And then it lightened up significantly, and we ventured out from underneath our umbrellas, and enjoyed that, too.

Dad and Lucinda shared my appreciation of amazing ponga (NZ ferns). Also, Dad had a cool waterproof hat that Patty's dad Paul gave him, which he enjoyed using here.

There are all kinds of interesting fungi around Zealandia, but I don't think I'd ever seen these ones! They look like some interesting (but unappetizing) combination of licorice and tar.

Tickets for Zealandia are good for two days, so we headed back the next day, which happened to be much sunnier. J came with us as well, and the four of us had a fabulous time. The shags were out in full force in their favourite spot, which was fun.

All over Zealandia there are these wooden steps with tiny plaques on them, most of which state the names of the individuals, families, or organizations that donated money to Zealandia. I'd read a couple but mostly didn't pay attention to them.

Fortunately, Dad did, because he spotted this one. Hilarious! The Three Billy Goats is one of my children's favourite stories, which we tell in te reo Māori and in English. It made my (already lovely) day to see this.

A nice lady pointed out this beautiful female tuatara sunning herself. I'd never see one in this area, and it is great for getting a really good look at them.

We also saw a larger male one out in the usual area where we see them. I'd never seen two on one trip, so that was special.

We also saw this stunning quail -I'd never seen one at Zealandia before. They are not native to NZ, of course, but they don't hurt anything and they're beautiful, so they're pretty good as far as invasive species go.

We also admired the Kākā, as usual. I liked how clearly you could see the intense, curved beak when they were silhouetted in the trees.

The reservoir was beautiful, as it always is.

This is the higher of the two dams, which we learned were constructed to provide more water for the growing population of Wellington.

I'd never noticed the hilarious and ingenious little pockets the foresters had created to help vines grow. We'd been noticing how often there were natural little pockets in trees, from which other plants were growing, and apparently here they decided to give the system some support.

I may have (definitely) mentioned this before, but I love tunnel paths like this!

We saw lots and lots of birds the second day, and I actually got some decent pictures, especially around the Hihi and Korimako feeders like this one. The one with yellow on his wings is a male Hihi (Stitchbird) and I'm pretty sure the other one is a female Hihi, although it's harder to tell the females apart. Could be a female Korimako (Bellbird).

 One of the male Hihi hung around in the tree after finishing at the feeders, which was charming of him.

Dad and Lucinda read all of the historical information about the settlers and evolution of Zealandia throughout the years, and said it was fascinating. I prefer to focus on being out in nature with the birds, but it's great to have both options.

I do think that I'm coming to the end of the pictures and stories from when Dad and Lucinda visited, but I still have lots of back-logged things to post about, so I'll keep getting to them as I can.