After we left the Kokiri Center, which is a communal living space for the Maori people, on the 23rd, we went to a small farm run by a couple named Rick and Liz. One of our group leaders, Lolly, had stayed with Rick and Liz before this trip so it was amazing to see them reunited. At the farm, we learned about permaculture and how they farm according to the moon cycle and the migration patterns of the different species of birds. After, Liz brought out two baby goats and their mom. It was so cute to see the energetic babies jump all around us! After, we met some of the other local characters on the farm- first was the 150 chickens and then the huge, adorable pigs. After the fun, we all got our hands a little dirty and helped weed part of heir garden. When it was time for lunch, we were all surprised by a huge meal of the classic New Zealand lunch of Fish and Chips! We all said our good byes and thank you’s and we made our way to a sweat lodge close to Hamilton, NZ. We prepped for the experience by drinking tons of water (and peeing a lot) and after a couple hours we made our way into a traditional Native American sweat lodge. It was extremely intense and it pushed all of our comfort zones- but the detox and prayers were well worth the heat. We ended the night with a communal dinner and headed to bed. Today, we took a small hike and said bye to our new Maori friends- Tamahou, Maddie and Tikai. After we prepped for our next adventure to BMAC- Blue Mountain Adventure Center!
Sending love back to our families and friends back home!
-Anna and Ski