Before getting on bus at 7:40 AM, our wagonmaster Jim announced Linda’s birthday and gave her a card – almost every day on this trip we were celebrating someone’s birthday. WOW what a way to spend a birthday… on a trip of a life time! Today, we first visited the Paradise Valley Wildlife Center where we saw and learned about the various species of New Zealand’s fish and birds. We saw the Kiwi which is a nocturnal, non-flying, bird that we saw in a dark enclosure to simulate night. We then visited the Agrodome where we had learned all about sheep, the shearing process and watched incredible dogs herding sheep on command.
At 6 PM the Maori Village bus picked us up at the campground and took us to the Maori Village. On the way our Maori driver taught us how to say hello in Maori and some of their ancient customs. We selected a chief to represent us at the greeting ceremony , Paul Aehnlich, who met with the Maori chief of the village in the greeting ceremony and touched noses as a sign of acceptance and welcome. The Maori tattooed faces, extended tongues and large glaring eyeballs supposedly scared off enemies in the past but now create a unique experience to entertain the tourists. The Maori put on a great show for us, gave us a tour of their village, played games and served us an excellent buffet dinner of chicken, lamb, mussels and vegetables cooked under the ground similar to a Hawaiian Luau plus deserts which included Pavlova and fruit salad – more food than you could eat. We found the Maori people to be friendly, gracious, fun-loving people that welcomed the opportunity to share their culture with us.
