Kia Ora!
We left the marae (spelled it wrong before) this morning and are spending the night here in Tanganui at the Extreme Backpackers hostel, which includes a climbing wall that Cliff and Karen have been enjoying. Today has been nice down time for us all to do some laundry or catch up on e-mail. Emily was very excited because she finally got her long lusted after Kinder egg. Tonight we're having a makeshift prom thanks to Hannah for organizing it so today has included some interesting prom proposals. David and Ryan ambushed me with a dance performance and a yes or no check box written on their chest. Kareem asked Karen on one knee while she was mid-air descending from her climb. We've all been having fun with it and are going for a classy dinner out at the finest of restaurants (aka BK) of course after tons of awkward prom pictures.
So last I left off it was Thursday and we had travelled to town to see the Maori museum. We had a guided tour through the museum and were overwhelmed by the rich cultural history of everything from war canoes to musical instruments. After the museum we stopped at a very elaborate playground for lunch and felt like 8 year olds again as we bounced on the see-saw or climbed a giant whale. We departed to drive along the windy roads of the historic Wanganui river, which we learned more about later in the week from Kareem's stimulating historical presentation.
On Friday we celebrated the Incredible Mr. Cliff's birthday. Some of us went for a hike to try to find the legendary bottomless lake. We were halted by a gnarly patch of blackberry bushes but enjoyed venturing through the hills and Christine and I found a pretty sweet walking stick bug and gave it to Cliff for his birthday. Cliff also got to whip an exploding mushroom at Ryans white t-shirt for his birthday. Kelsey, Ryan, and Dylan branched off to do some hunting and at the end of the night we all enjoyed delicious caramel pecan pie made from scratch by Kelsey and Karen.
On Saturday we rejoiced over the birthday of that tall cup of tea that is David Horwitz. We were able to see a traditional haka performed by a Maori group. Their costumes and songs were beautiful and we all enjoyed watching their dances. The girls were encouraged to go up and we attempted to learn how to dance while spinning a Maori poi. Afterwards the performers sat and chatted with us over tea and sent us well wishes on our travels. For our last night we ate food cooked in a hongi, which was like a dug out oven in the earth that the boys helped build. Ryan and Dylan also came back from hunting with a goat slung over each of their backs.
During the week some of us found what we referred to as Jack Johnson tree (because it looked just like the cover of his in between dreams album) and visited it frequently. Overall it was a week full of birthdays, culture, hiking, and hunting and we all said our goodbye to the marae. We head out tomorrow for the Outdoor Pursuits Center and word has it we will be surrendering all technology so I'm not sure when the next blog will be, but know that youre loved ones are healthy, happy, and psyched on our next adventure!
-Lucy
