Arrived at 5:30am last Tuesday after 14 hours of quality time next to my new buddy Trevor, a fellow study NZ. At the hotel we met the rest of the gang, all students from the US studying at various schools around NZ.
The Gang
That afternoon we climbed the top of a dormant volcano just outside Auckland. For a volcano it was surprisingly small - more of a hill. But still, what an awesome view!
The next day we got out cellphones - I'm using an old school nokia from the 90's - the number (with international code) is: +642 021 805 630. Feel free to call!
Yup, that's a volcano
Thursday we got a little culture. We went o the top of another larger dormant volcano with our Maori (pronounced moor-e) guides Michelle and Melissa, who told us the history of their people - the indigenous New Zealanders. On the volcano you can still see the shape of what used to be their terraces on the side of the hill. After that we hit a museum with lots of Maori weapons, boats, and a full size building. Without going to far into it, I defiantly got the impression that the Maori people were far more violent than their current descendants would like them to be remembered. Nowhere in the museum did it mention that the Maori were cannibals, for example, and almost all the artifacts seemed to in some way relate to warfare. Interestingly enough, Maori tribes also have a large influence on contemporary NZ politics, and their culture is extremely prevalent through NZ society. (Maori is the official language of NZ, and it's taught in all the schools).
Still got a lot more to tell! But it's 7 and there's a BBQ downstairs. Will continue later with Auckland, nightlife, the beaches and caving....
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