New Zealand is rich in outdoors and cultural tourism

As I tumbled down the hillside in a gigantic beach ball filled with water, feeling somewhat like I was in a washing machine, it occurred to me that there had to be a better way to experience New Zeala

As I tumbled down the hillside in a gigantic beach ball filled with water, feeling somewhat like I was in a washing machine, it occurred to me that there had to be a better way to experience New Zealand.

Actually, that didn’t occur to me until after the Zorb stopped rolling and my screams had subsided into laughter.

New Zealand may be best known for adventure tourism including sky diving, bungee jumping, gliding and “Zorbing ” โ€” rolling downhill in a 10-foot-tall inflatable sphere cushioned with water. Yet the most enriching part of my trip was the cultural tourism that taught me about the Maori.

Don’t be fooled: “Meeting” a Maori tribe at a heritage center can be just as intimidating as thrill-jumping off Auckland’s Skytower. What’s the proper reaction when a tattooed, spear-carrying warrior bounds out of a house, shouts something in Maori at you, makes menacing faces and throws a leaf at your feet? Think fast, because that spear is pretty sharp.

Centuries before white settlers came and called the country New Zealand, the Maori arrived in canoes at Aotearoa (Ay-oh-teh-RO’-ah, meaning “Land of the Long White Cloud”), most likely from Polynesia.

Flipping through TV channels today, you might come across the Maori-language news station, but you can hear the native greeting “Kia ora!” (kee-ah-OR-ah) pretty much anywhere you go.

And rugby fans may know of the haka, the Maori dance practiced by the All Blacks, the national rugby team, to rattle their opponents before each game. The players chant in unison while rolling their eyes, slapping their arms and thighs, and thrusting their tongues โ€” it’s quite a sight.

My fiance and I saw the haka performed on a stage at Te Puia, a Maori heritage center in the city of Rotorua, after which tattooed warriors taught the dance to men in the audience. It was hardly frightening when the tourists tried to do it.

Te Puia also offered us a hearty Maori feast made in a hangi (earth oven) and served family-style in a dining room with other visitors. Lamb and seafood are local staples, as is kumara, a kind of native sweet potato.

Afterward, we rode a tram to the Pohutu geyser, one of many natural wonders around Rotorua, which include geothermal pools and bubbling mud. The town’s not-so-natural wonders include the Zorb โ€” โ€” and remnants of the Hobbiton movie set created for the “Lord of the Rings” films, a few miles away in Matamata.

After a dolphin-watching cruise in the Bay of Islands that left from Paihia, we visited the nearby Waitangi Treaty Grounds, a beautiful coastal property about 150 miles north of Auckland. New Zealanders consider this the birthplace of their country, as it was here that European settlers and Maori natives signed the Treaty of Waitangi on Feb. 6, 1840. The anniversary is observed each year as a national holiday and as a celebration of multiculturalism. The treaty was actually two documents โ€” one in Maori, one in English โ€” and controversy continues to this day over the translations.

Waitangi includes a marae (Maori meeting house) laden with intricate wood carvings that is now a museum. It also was the home of 19th-century British envoy James Busby. By the shore, a huge ceremonial waka (war canoe) testifies to Maori craftsmanship and bravery. Would you cross the Pacific Ocean in one of those?

We paid brief visits to the big cities, which, while filled with gracious people and good restaurants, were not particularly picturesque. Auckland and Wellington are both set on gorgeous harbors, but the streets lack the aesthetic, historic charm of many European cities and even some in America.

The exception was Christchurch. Named for the college at Oxford, Christchurch has the architecture, parks, cathedral, central square and lovely river with gondolas that make its downtown seem like merry old England.

New Zealand’s countryside, though, is universally stunning, from snow-capped mountains to lakes and beaches.

Yet for Kiwis, it isn’t enough to just look at the spectacular scenery โ€” you must experience it. So we “Zorbed” in Rotorua, a town of about 60,000 on New Zealand’s North Island that’s a tourism/adventure hub. We wriggled into the inflatable sphere and promptly got pushed down a mountain slope. We chose a wet ride in which you’re cushioned by a small amount of water sloshing around inside the ball with you.

We also checked out a sky-diving operation. We got as far as watching the video on how exhilarating it can be before chickening out.

I also took a pass on glacier heli-hiking. After all, my adrenaline got pumped enough by the spear-carrying Maori at the heritage center in Rotorura who threw down the leaf. The proper reaction, by the way, is to pick it up. They’ll invite you in. Stay a while โ€” they make a mean feast.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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