Nicks Big Adventure

Kia Ora y'all. I have a rather boring week followed by some fun events that I needed to share as soon as possible. Before I can go any further I must say sorry for the misspelling of a few things. If you can find the needed corrections in my last post please correct them yourself . I also neglected to mention Matariki, the Maori new year. I did not celebrate but It marks the days getting longer, so I'm really into that. Last time I wrote on here I had been rushing to get out before 10 am and the NZ military showed up. They did show up but I split pretty quick. The weather was getting worse and the wind felt as if it would blow me away. I flipped a coin and the outcome was to drive to Blenheim. I battled the wind and rain all the way there. I also battled the mussel pie I had for lunch, it wanted out quickly. My priority was to find a campsite where I could walk to a tavern. That night the All Blacks were playing their final match against the Irish. Everything fell into place even the weather. The first match I watched alone on the beach in golden bay. The second was in Nelson with a few residents of the holiday park in the TV room. This final match I watched at the popular bar in town. It happened to be across the street from my accommodation, which is nice. I watched the end of the Wales vs Australia game and the whole lead up to the NZ match. I was totally stoked, I had beer, there was a good crowd, and the game was on. I have watched many games at bars but this was different. Nobody that I saw was wearing any NZ gear, no hats or jerseys. The national anthem was No big deal, but when it came time to do the Haka, everyone paid attention. For those who don't know, the Haka is one of the most special performances in sports. Lebron James's chalk clap, Ray Lewis' pump up speech, and the "Gentlemen start your engines!", don't come close to the Haka. Ok, maybe the fly over is close but this is an ancient tradition. There are many different forms of the Haka. Many Haka are ceremonial, performed by Maori on a marae or as a greeting. The most well known use is as a challenge of peace before a battle. It involves chants, slapping of the legs, arms and chest, and the scariest face one can make. During my first visit to Rotorua I got to see a traditional Haka, and even got to do it with the people at the village I visited. The starting squad for the All Blacks stands in formation on the half way mark of the field facing the opposition. A leader from the group leads the battle cry, (usually Peri Wipu) and the others follow. This gets the crowd and the players really revved up for The match. They used to perform the Haka in the locker room. Now its on the field for all to see, one thing you wont see nowadays is a particular move where the thumb is drawn across the neck. This means "I'm Gonna cut your head off." It is such an old Maori tradition that their cousins in Hawaii also do the Haka. There was a lawsuit a few years back about who owned the rights to perform it. I think the let it go. Back to the game. It was a blowout, with the All Blacks running all over the Irish. The last thing that was different from what I'm used to is that nobody clapped or cheered. I was going crazy with excitement while the others were ho-hum about it. A great game and a good nights sleep, but I still had a choice. Do I stay or do I go? Again I flipped a coin and I was off south to Kaikoura. The drive was amazing! It was a clear day and the Pacific was green and blue. I cruised along and enjoyed the drive. Some folks say that Disney Land is the happiest place on earth, I would disagree. I have driven this road before and remembered stopping along the side of the road to look at seals. I also overhead a few people talking about seal pups and waterfalls. When I passed by this time I noticed some children running amuck in one of the DOC parking lots. I then discovered the happiest place on earth. Fur seal pups swim and climb up a small stream, under a road and railroad, for protection. This is a nursery of sorts for seal pups. They play in the creek, along the banks and the in pool at the end with a 30 meter waterfall. Every couple of days they go back to the sea to be fed by mom who is out at sea feeding. The pups are the size of a normal dog with flippers and cuter than a puppy/kitten combo. At the end of the 150 meter walk there is a pool with many pups swimming, playing, fighting, and doing tricks. I am still smiling, it was the coolest thing I have ever seen. Ill post some pics sometime. Still buzzing from the seals I rolled into Kaikoura, found a place to stay and poked around a bit. It's a mellow town by the sea and the name directly translates into Food, Crayfish. I will have to get my hands on one of those before I leave here. The next day I walked a 4 hour loop track that gave good lookouts of the sea and surrounding snowy mountains. It was so windy that it did not knock me down but stumbled me many times. The peninsula here was used for whaling for many years and one reason there was a pakeha settlement here. Even the war memorial in town has an archway made of whale bones. For the Maori it's a special place. I have mentioned about Kupe, the Maori explorer who fished the North Island out of the ocean while standing on his waka (canoe) the South Island. Well, the fish gave such an epic fight that Kupe had to place his foot on the edge of his boat for leverage. This is where he put his foot. It's a really great place to live. The oceans are teaming with life and there are mountains with in 20 min drive. This is a popular spot for retirees. I was off to Hanmer Springs the next day. It was a slow drive into the mountains and toward a large grey cloud that had to have been dumping snow. The popular thing in town was the hot springs. I decided to do a two day pass at the pools. It is a large complex with pools of different heat levels and weird stuff. One pool was a whirlpool with an inner whirlpool. Another pool had devices spraying and shooting water. I spent most of my time in the hottest pools that were natural unfiltered sulfur mineral pools. The whole complex is open to the sky so when it was snowing I got to stay warm. Both days were filled with good conversations. Another leisurely drive toward Christchurch brought me to a small campground where I spent last night. It was close to the beach thus hearing the waves once again I slept like a baby. Today I will go into CHCH. I will be here till my flight on tuesday. I am very interested to see what is here in CHCH and see how bad the destruction is. I hope its not to devastating. I trust everyone has had a good week and is now looking forward to the weekend. Please enjoy the warm weather even if it is crazy hot, I would trade you if even for a few days. However I am getting used to the cold which is nice. I miss you all and cant wait to get back to the working world. Peace, Love and Pura Vida. Nicholas