Kia ora. I feel immediately at home here. Landing could almost have been the Vancouver area and the drive in to Aukland could almost have been Granville Street. I read that New Zealand separated from Gondawarra (of which Australia was a part of) over 80 million years ago and 75% of the plant and birds are completely unique to here. Aukland is built on active volcanoes. They seem pretty philosophical about it. (“Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice” Will Durant, an American historian.) These people are so mad for Rugby they even have a display for the All Blacks in the museum. The national symbol is the Kiwi, a bird which is a descendent of the Emu and the Kiwi does not fly. Aukland lacks the humidity I experienced in Sydney and I seem to need my sweater today, however when the sun shines it burns. It is full on summer. When the New Zealander’s talk there seems to be a mumble that gets progressively worse and towards the end of the sentence the volume is barely audible all of which is clearly interspersed with a pronounced British accent. I learned today that the word Maori is said with a roll of the r and that all r’s are rolled in this tongue. The Maori language is very much in use. I saw a Maori cultural performance at the museum that was wonderful and saw the Haka which the All Blacks mimic before they play. Haka is a performance that is threatening and where the tongue is protruded and is meant to instil fear in the enemy. The dancing I saw seemed so much like what I saw in Hawaii and Tahiti except that the hula is replaced by the waving of the hands and the eyes are widened a great deal. It is very beautiful and graceful to watch. It seems to me that Fiji is more influenced by New Guinea and Samoa and that the Maori’s are descendants of the Polynesians. The Maori culture, like our First Nations, have strong carving and artistic traditions. The Maori had gardens. Their weaving to me is in part, like our Coast Salish. Their traditional house is made of wood, and is called the marae, and is considered representative of the human body. The door is the tongue, the interior is the embodiment of the tribe, and the eaves represent the arms and legs. It is ornately carved with tiki or amo and depict fertility or genealogy much like the clans of our tribes. It is tapu for women to carve. I am in seventh heaven. I am now in Cormandel Peninsula at a place called Hotwater Beach. It is geothermal and if one digs holes in the sand the water is extremely hot. People were bathing in the pools tonight and there were shovels everywhere.I am travelling with a tour group that is a bit startling. I am the oldest and the accommodation is coed. There is a young man getting undressed in front of me. It should be an interesting two weeks.