Makara Beach Views

If you start at our house, and drive away from the city, it takes you about 20 minutes to get to the other (non-city, non-harbour) side of the coast. The closest part of this coastline to us is Makara Beach. We'd gone there once before, but it was a dreary day and we were wearing beach shoes, so when we discovered that we'd probably need to do some hiking before finding a good stretch of beach, we promptly gave up.

However, I did put a little reminder note in the back of my mind that Makara Beach deserved further exploration. J wasn't as interested, so I headed there myself on one of the days when I was still on summer holiday and he'd gone back to work.

I took a lot of pictures during my 3 1/2 hour hike/meandering stroll. Usually, I then delete the majority of them, but these ones were just fabulous, and I couldn't resist posting most of them. 

The first part of the beach you see was already far more impressive simply by virtue of it being a sunny day. The colours of the water were mesmerizing, unlike on cloudy days when the ocean is usually just blue-grey. Unfortunately, that first part of the beach still has an unpleasant smell hanging about, so I headed strait up the hills on a path that said it would take me to Opau Bay.

I'm thinking that that island must be Mana Island. I would have thought that it would be too far around the coastline to see from there, but given that the maps show no other islands in that area at all, I'm inclined to conclude that must be it.

This is looking back at Makara Beach from halfway up the first hill. Notice the wind turbines on the hills.

We hadn't had much rain in the preceding weeks, so the grasses were fairly dry and yellow-brown, as compared to NZ's typical vivid green, but still beautiful.

I think that the second curve inland, that you can't see the end of, is Opau Bay, to which I walked.

In many of these pictures from up high, you can see the beach that I then walked back on, completing my circuit.

There are amazing views of the South Island! How many shades of blue can you have in one picture?

Those hills, as far as I can figure out, are Arapawa Island in front and Cape Jackson in the back.

There is lots of driftwood along parts of the beach (and none along others).

This is a different group of wind turbines. I know some people don't like them, but even aside from my enthusiasm for wind energy, I think they're lovely to look at.

If I remember right, this is the view from near where I rejoined the beach from the inland trails at Opau Bay.

What a lovely, rocky beach! I love the stark contrast between the colour of the wet and dry stones.

I actually took this picture because the way the sun lights up the waves makes me think of the ocean character in Moana, but then later I noticed that it's cool to have the South Island in the background as well.

I discovered on my way back that not far from the start of Makara Beach, there is a section where there no actual beach, just huge volcanic rocks. You have to clamber over quite a few of them, which was quite entertaining, and also hopefully keeps lazy, disruptive people off the rest of the beach.

I love watching the spray as the waves hit the rocks.

I am so happy that I have Makara Beach another try, because it is now one of my favourite beach walks I've done so far. I will definitely be doing it again and again! And be forewarned, if you come to visit, I'll want to take you there. 

Karakia mō te Kai

At Whare Kea, we say a karakia mō te kai before we eat. It is a prayer of thankfulness for the kai (food) we have been given. Since I started, we have been doing a few different karakia (prayers), but we decided that we wanted to find one that was particularly meaningful and start only doing that one. Traditionally, Māori people used karakia for a wide variety of reasons, and one very consistent one was to say thank you for their food, to the places and atua (guardians) who provided it. My colleague Sinead found the traditional karakia mō te kai that we eventually decided to use, and I think it's wonderful and inspiring.

I supported six children to draw pictures of the six atua who we thank in our karakia. For the four atua who have domains that specific foods come from, I put pictures of their domains next to them, to help the children (and parents) make those connections. As we say the karakia each day, I point to each place and atua as we thank them.

(Sorry for the glare, but I laminated them before it occurred to me that I should take pictures.)

In the display, I intentionally made the English translation tiny, as I think that all language learners benefit from trying to actually understand in the new language, rather than relying on translations. However, as you are likely not trying to learn te reo Māori, I will provide you with legible English.

Nau mai e ngā hua

 Welcome the gifts of food

o te wao

from the sacred forests

o te ngakina

from the cultivated gardens

o te wai tai

from the sea

o te wai Māori

from the fresh waters

Nā Tane

The food of Tane (atua of the forest)

Nā Rongo

of Rongo (atua of peace and agriculture)

Nā Tangaroa

of Tangaroa (atua of the sea)

Nā Maru

of Maru (atua of fresh water)

Ko Ranginui e tū iho nei

I acknowledge Ranginui who is above me (atua of the sky)

Ko Papatūānuku e takoto nei

Papatūānuku who lies beneath me (atua of the earth)

Tuturu whakamaua

Let this be my commitment to all!

Kia tina! TINA! Hui e! TĀIKI E!

Draw together! Affirm!

The children are rapidly learning and identifying with this karakia, and I think it is bringing some mindfulness to our lunch routine. Regardless of which culture inspires us, it is always a good thing to be thankful, and to remember all the resources that go into giving us what we need. When I asked the children why we say this karakia the other day, one girl answered, "To say thank you to all the natural world." Well said.

If you'd like to hear a recording of this karakia mō te kai, you can go to the following website, and scroll all the way down to the last karakia, labeled as "traditional." You'll notice that there are some Christian-ified karakia on that page as well. There are lots of those around, but we wanted an original, traditional one, of course. Here is the website: http://maori.otago.ac.nz/reo-tikanga-treaty/te-reo/karakia

Taupo with Stevie and Ryan: Part 2

This post contains the rest of my pictures from Taupo (or the select few that made the cut, as I actually had many more).

This picture should really have been in my last post, with the other dam pictures, but Stevie sent it to me later in the week, and I thought it was quite lovely, so it merits getting added in, even where it doesn't belong. We were a happy quartet.

Stevie and Ryan took us to L'arté Café and Gallery, and as soon as we pulled up, the beautiful teapots hanging from the branches of the trees told me I was going to like this place!

They had an amazing number of beautiful things, and these suncatchers were among my favourites.

J relaxed for a bit on the "comfy" mosaic couch.

This is the view from that couch. It's phenomenal to think of the time and effort spent to place every little piece of this mosaic world.

Next, we went back into town, and walked along the edge of the lake, which was beautiful and calm.

There is a hole on that platform out in the water, and you try to get a hole-in-one from these tees. We saw a diver out in the water, assumedly collecting the sunken balls, which made me feel better about the ecological impact of this pastime. It actually looked like a very cool challenge, although not one for me, as I'm not even good at mini-golf.

After an afternoon rest, we decided to hike to the top of Mount Tauhara, which is the closer of these two.

It was a challenging hike, as it was an hour and a half straight up hill, and it was a hot day. But the bush we walked through was beautiful, especially this part that had lots of moss covering all the other growth. There were often huge natural steps to climb up, rather than a smooth path, which was a bit difficult on my back, but totally worth it.

Look at that view! I'd hike much further and higher than that for such an incredible view!

And turn the other way for stunning views of Lake Taupo!

We're on top of the world! And what a beautiful world it is.

The silhouettes of the mountains across the lake were mystical in the evening light.

I know that it is not new information for any of you that I love skyscapes and sunsets, but how could anyone resist this? As you can see, it was getting dark as we hiked back down - a result of trying to avoid the hottest time of the day. 

It was perfect, because the air was pleasantly cooler, and then we got back to Stevie and Ryan's house at just the right time to order pizza and have a relaxing dinner and chat at their house before bed. (J and I appreciated that Stevie and Ryan aren't any more into late nights than we are, so we didn't have to feel like party poopers when we realized it was our bedtime.)

The next morning, J slept in, and I went and visited the early learning centre where Stevie teaches. I didn't take pictures, of course, given that it's not my space, but it was lovely to meet her children and colleagues and see her new environment. It seemed like such a nice place, and it's good to know that Stevie has found supportive colleagues and is enjoying her teaching.

I was also shocked and delighted to see a familiar face there; a teacher who I'd met at the first kindergarten I did relief (substitute) teaching for when we first moved to NZ, 3 1/2 years ago! We'd really clicked when we taught briefly together, but hadn't seen each other since, and it was wonderful to catch up with her. It is such an uncommon occurrence for me to run into anyone I know anywhere in NZ, let alone in the small town of Taupo that I'd never been to before! How fun!

To sum up, it was a wonderful weekend with wonderful people, and we only wish that Taupo were closer, because the four of us could have many wonderful adventures together. J and Ryan hit it off better than anyone expected, and Stevie and I have such a good time together. Maybe someday we'll live closer to each other, but we'll have to keep visiting in the meantime.

Taupo with Stevie and Ryan: Part 1

Last weekend, J and I went to Taupo to visit my friend Stevie, with whom I taught at Whare Kea for a few months when I first started. She then moved to Taupo, and we have been meaning to visit her and her partner, Ryan, ever since, but it's taken ages to actually make it happen. 

After a nice (long) drive through beautiful countryside, we got to Stevie and Ryan's house, which is lovely, and has a nice view of Lake Taupo. The lake is the largest in NZ, and is in the caldera of the Taupo Volcano. It is quite a beautiful, clear mountain lake.

We had a beautiful homemade dinner of roast chicken and veggies, which I forgot to take a picture of, followed by great conversation, a good night's sleep, and then this amazingly delicious homemade breakfast! I told Stevie and Ryan that we'll be visiting as often as possible if they keep feeding us like this! We never have cooked breakfast, and it was such a treat!

On Sunday morning, they took us to Huka Falls, which is at the beginning of the Waikato River, which comes out of Lake Taupo. We've enjoyed walking along the Waikato in Hamilton, but I'd never realized that it started at Lake Taupo. Isn't the colour of the water amazing?

The falls are not tall, but it is an amazing amount of water cascading down, and again, the colour is phenomenal.

Just a bit further down, the water is much calmer, and the river already looks much more like it does in Hamilton. Although as Ryan pointed out, the colour is much better here, as it gets quite a bit of dirt in it from farming as it goes along.

Next, they took us to the Aratiatia dam, which opens three times a day to let out excess water. The dam is one of eight along the Waikato River that generate hydroelectric power. I hadn't realized this, but Ryan said that a significant percentage of NZ's power is generated in this way.

When the dam opens, 80,000 litres of water per second pour out!

This peaceful little pond was what greeted us when we got there, just a few minutes before the gates opened. Having seen the volume of water in the picture above, you can image how long that lasted!

The little pond starts filling up, and before you know it, it's turned into a flowing river, and then soon after that...

... it's unrecognizable! Scroll back up to my first picture, and you almost can't believe it's the same place! It was very cool to watch the transformation happen in just a few short minutes. I kept thinking that it must be as high as it could go, but the water would keep rising! There were trees that were almost completely submerged by the end!

Stevie and Ryan knew places near the dam where you could pick wild raspberries and blackberries, and they were so deliciously sun-kissed and juicy! I, of course, tripped into a bush and wounded my leg on the vicious thorns, but it was worth it! 

We did lots more fun and beautiful things on that busy Sunday, but I'll save them for next time. Look out for Part 2, coming soon!

Deck Delights

Sorry for the late post this week. J and I took Monday off and went and spent a wonderful weekend with our friends in Taupo. I haven't had a chance to look through my pictures and get a post together from that trip, so you get this one that I had ready, but forgot to post before we left.

As you all know, reading in the sunshine is one of my absolute favourite things. NZ is perfect for it, because while the sun can be deliciously roasting, the air temperature is often cool enough that your basking remains pleasant, rather than turning into an oven situation. In Wellington, there is usually also a cool breeze, which is perfect.

In addition, our current house provides amazing views along with the sunny place to read, which results in a situation that is remarkably close to perfection.

I didn't use the deck all that much over the winter, although there were occasional days warm and sunny enough to enjoy it. But now that it's summer, some days I am barely fully awake before I'm out there with a good book and a cup of tea.

See? How wonderful this that? That particular day, you'll notice that there were lots of clouds. It was warm enough that I didn't mind the times without direct sun, but not so warm that I wasn't happy when it came out again!

I thought these clouds over the hills were particularly wonderful.

I usually start out in long pants and a hoodie, and then just take off layers as the morning warms up. I wear lots of sunscreen and always wear my hat - I don't want skin cancer concerns marring my perfect days.

One beautifully sunny morning blew suddenly away, replace by solid rainclouds and gale force winds. I ran around the house closing all the windows, feeling like I was on a ship, battening down the hatches. I was then quite entertained watching the spotted patterns appearing on the wood of the deck as it started raining.

This day was wonderful, because while there were clouds, the ones above me were not thick enough to completely take away my sunbeams, but rather just so soften them.

Look how amazing those hill in the distance look! They're the ones you can see between the middle and right hill in the picture above. Some days you can't see them at all, and some days, like this one, they're strikingly clear.

Just in case you were missing sunrise pictures, here's another one! Usually if I'm up early enough for the sunrise, it means I'm headed to work rather than out onto the deck, but I always take a few minutes to enjoy it!

Poupou Huia Te Reo

This week, I started a five month intensive course in te reo Māori (Māori language), at the end of which I will be certified as a Māori language speaker. I am thrilled to be taking this course, and even more delighted that I am taking it with six of my colleagues. It is an online course, and while it is extremely interactive as far as online courses go, face-to-face interaction and speaking out loud to a real person are invaluable when it comes to learning language. So I am lucky to have people to do that with. It also feels good to know that I work at a place where so many other people are willing to commit their own time and effort to learning this language.

The course is through Te Wānanga o Raukawa, which is a university founded by a Māori marae (cultural centre) that educates students in a way that is consistent with Māori culture and values. This course is completely free to all NZ citizens and permanent residents, and is part of the university's commitment to reviving and celebrating te reo Māori. Read more about it here.

Here is a short excerpt from the home page of my course:

Nau mai | Welcome

Kei ngā mana, kei ngā reo, kei ngā kainiwha o tō tātou nei reo, nau mai, haere mai ki a Poupou Huia Te Reo.  Tēnei e mihi ake ana!

Welcome to all of you who have elected to pursue Poupou Huia Te Reo. It is a privilege to have you studying with Te Wānanga o Raukawa.   

The lessons in the course are designed to teach the language of the home so you and your families or flatmates can share this Māori language journey together. Learning is set around the daily activities of a real whānau and popular fairy tales to help teach phrases that you can use straight away in your everyday life. 

 

Whether your goal is to gain an introduction to the Māori language or develop fluency in the longer term, we hope that your Huia Te Reo experience will contribute to your ongoing reo journey. 

Heoi anō, go to the next section, Ngā Mahi Tōmua, to begin the course. Karawhiua e hoa - give it your all!

So far, I've just done a few introductory activities and exercises, and it seems interesting and fun. It has mostly been stuff that I already know, but I think that's appropriate for the first week, and I'm sure that we will quickly get into new stuff for me, as I have so much to learn!

The course suggests that you spend 12 hours per week on activities, homework, videos, studying, etc. I already work full time and have two book clubs that I'm very committed to, as well as various other projects I work on, so 12 hours a week is a daunting prospect. However, I get energy from language learning because I love it so much, and I am finding language number three significantly easier than language number two, so it is often pretty instantaneously rewarding. I think that all those years of forcing French into my brain has solidified enough linguistic neural pathways that Māori is somewhat fast-tracked, which is fabulous.

I'm looking forward to collaborating with my colleagues on this as well. We're at various levels of competency and comfort going in, so I think that I will sometimes be providing support, and sometimes receiving it, and that will be ideal.

All that being said, I anticipate that the next five months will be jam-packed and exhausting, and am going to do my best to be gentle with myself. I know it will all be worth it, and am delighted with this opportunity, so... here goes!

Seal Adventure (The Seal Part)

As promised, this post contains the pictures of the seals, which were the highlight of our tour.

We'd been driving along the beach, and the tour guide suggested that we start looking out for seals near the water. While everything was beautiful, we didn't see any seals as we drove along, and I began to feel a bit concerned that we weren't going to see any. I shouldn't have worried, though.

This is Tongue Point, where we stopped. Can you see the seals? I didn't see them at first, but they're there.

Here, I'll get closer so you can see better. See them now? I hope so! Look how many there are! Tongue Point is obviously the place to be if you're a seal, because there was one on almost every rock. 

I was fascinated watching them move so gracefully in the water. They spun and dove and flipped effortlessly.

This one made us laugh, lounging right in front of us, and then every so often looking over its shoulder at us like this.

This one looks so happy to me!

And this one is just like a cat, soaking up the sun. Notice how light-coloured and fluffy their fur turns when it's dry, compared to being almost black when wet.

This one was particularly magestic.

J likes to do this pose from The Life Aquatic (a movie he likes), and elected to point at the famous Leaning Lighthouse off the coast.

Here we are in seal land!

Our guide assured us that the seals were pretty calm, but warned us not to get in between them and the water, and to stay a respectful distance away. After my traumatic seal experience with Holly in New Plymouth (which you can read about here), I was not going to go too close to those seals under any circumstances! Not surprisingly, when there wasn't a wonderful but insane dog jumping on them, the seals were happy to mind their own business.

We are appreciative of this tour company, and of our guide, for this engaging and fascinating experience. We'll be recommending it as a fun afternoon for people who come to visit us, as well. You can read more about them at their website: http://www.sealcoast.com/