Day Something-Or-Other in New Zealand (Jet lag: 174, Katie: 0) was arguably the most scenic. While the locals are adamant that this part of the country is dotted with just hills and absolutely no mountains, the landscape reminds me of the Atlas Mountains or the foothills of the Rockies if they’d been doused in the lush greenery of western Ireland.
The road to Gisborne winds through the Waioeka Gorge along the river by the same name, and it’s definitely the most scenic road I’ve ever been on. The steep mountains looked practically prehistoric, covered in giant ferns, heavy palm trees, and towering conifers draped in moss in every shade of green. It had just rained, and whips of cloud clung to the treetops and sat low in the valleys. I half expected to see a pterodactyl soar between the peaks or a giant ground sloth lumber down to the water. As the road followed the Waioeka River upstream, the water’s color faded from turquoise to jade and back to turquoise, and the hillsides became so steep that the bus brushed against tree branches and rumbled over dirt and stones from recent landslides. Every few feet, a little white stream bubbled into the river or poured down over the mossy rocks. I would kill for a chance to kayak that river.
The road was particularly “whirly,” as the kiwis say, and we spent much of the trip somewhere between carsick and trying desperately to keep our possessions from flying around the bus. After that gorgeously scenic trip, the town of Gisborne was, sadly, a bit anticlimactic. The town is so small that everyone seemed to know exactly who we were and why we were there. All the shops were closed more than they were open because the population was too small to maintain the number of businesses. We played a concert at the War Memorial Theater in conjunction with the Gisborne Concert Band, which was exceedingly small and exceedingly excited to be playing in concert with us. They were very talented, and I could tell the somewhat elderly audience was very proud of their hometown musicians.
Don't get me wrong -- I completely adore this country. It's one of the most gorgeous places I've ever been. I just would have selected different sites were it a vacation and not a band tour.
We stayed overnight in homesteads with local families before getting back on the bus and onto an even whirlier road to the town of Hastings. We were promised a pit stop at the greatest bakery in New Zealand, Osler’s Bakery and Cafe in Wairoa. It was pretty freaking excellent. If you’re in New Zealand, you can’t not have a meat pie once or twice. I highly recommend anything with cheese — steak and cheese, mince and cheese, you name it — or a very self-explanatory little savory pie called a potato-top. The sweet pastries are also amazing. Osler’s, like many New Zealand bakeries, makes a variety of passionfruit pastries and serves the kiwi version of a doughnut — a slightly denser yeast roll split in half with cream down the middle, more or less in the shape of a hot dog. If you find yourself at Osler’s, I recommend the caramello.
Our concert in Hastings at Lindisfarne College (“college” in New Zealand is equivalent to “academy” in America) went over extremely well, with our director among some of the best jokes we’ve ever heard from him and some fantastic solos from our band. The Concorde Band put on a great program as well, and the audience even called for an encore after our joint piece. The audience was extremely enthusiastic, but like all of our audiences this trip — how do I put this nicely? — they seemed to enjoy our Benny Goodman medley because they were around when it was written in 1938.
If you catch my drift.
My roommate Kelly and I stayed the night with an especially lovely local family who lived in one of the most stylish homes I’ve ever seen and served us my first real home-cooked meal in several months. They also gave us wine and let us pet their dog, so it was a great night. I love New Zealand hospitality.
As Day 6 Or Maybe 7 Or Could Be 8 dawned over New Zealand, I was still desperately in search of a gift for my boyfriend. I was thinking of getting him a Maori bone necklace, even though he doesn’t wear necklaces, because I know he’ll appreciate both the artwork and the symbolism. Pretty sure he doesn’t read this blog, so it’ll be our secret.
My quest for the perfect souvenir would have to wait though, because we had a busy morning in Hastings. We had our first concert for the middle school students at 10:00am, followed by some break time and a really delicious lunch. This school cafeteria was serving beef pot pie, mashed potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, apples, and mandarins, plus wheat bread with a little pat of butter on a silver dish on every table.
My middle school lunch was a cold, smushed peanut butter sandwich. These kids are living in luxury.
Our second concert was part of a formal assembly for the high school students. They were the best-behaved teenaged boys I have ever seen. They sat bolt upright in perfect silence while their teachers ceremonially processed in to the tune of a bagpipe. Then the Maori teacher greeted us with a traditional welcome speech and a song before the entire school — about 500 boys — performed a haka. It was incredible. The haka is such a beautiful and intricate tradition, and watching 500 people perform it in perfect unison, led by one of the senior boys, was absolutely amazing. Our concert went over very well, and then it was back on the road again.
We arrived in Wellington very late at night, or at least well after dark. At this level of jet lag, 7:00pm is extremely late for me. We went to a nice dinner at a Thai place, and while several of my friends went out to the bars, I went straight to bed. I don’t have that kind of motivation right now.
Our first morning in Wellington was also the glorious dawn of our first full free day. I was very excited to finally do some sightseeing and experience the local culture firsthand. We figured our first stop ought to be the number one thing we wanted to see: Te Papa, the National Museum of New Zealand. If you’re in Wellington, it’s must-see.
We originally planned to spend about an hour and a half at Te Papa, figuring that at a free museum, we wouldn’t feel obligated to look at every exhibit. We ended up spending about four hours totally engrossed in everything the museum had to offer. We started in the Gallipoli exhibit, a topic rarely covered in American history classes, and I was completely moved by the beautiful presentation of soldiers’ stories and the enormous hyperrealistic sculptures of real people who fought in Gallipoli. I spent nearly an hour in that exhibit before moving on to the Mountains and Seas exhibit, featuring my favorite animal: the squid.
You may have heard of the famous colossal squid, the world’s largest known cephalopod, seen alive and captured on video for the first time in 2008 when one was pulled up accidentally by a commercial fishing vessel in Antarctica. The animal was near death when it reached the surface and died shortly thereafter, at which point it was preserved, autopsied, and re-preserved by New Zealand scientists. Te Papa is the only museum in the world in possession of a complete colossal squid.
Te Papa also has an entire floor dedicated to Maori art and history. It was refreshing to see a country celebrate and respect its native people and their culture so strongly, especially coming from the United States, where Native American culture is wildly underrepresented and under-appreciated. Although no photography is allowed in the Maori exhibits, I don’t think any photograph could accurately capture the beautiful intricacies of their carvings and weavings. There are scale models of Maori ships, real marvels of nautical engineering, and an entire Maori meeting hall reconstructed inside the museum. It was filled with dozens of gorgeous woodcarvings, no two exactly alike. There were cases upon cases of jade and bone carvings, including musical instruments, weapons, jewelry, and household tools. There was nothing that didn’t interest me.
Hidden in a back room, a local artist had reinterpreted traditional Maori carvings and architecture into probably one of the most fantastic structures I’ve ever seen. The carved figures of Maori mythical figures were done in beautifully carved wood, painted in bright ombre tones. I strongly suggest you look at my photos of it. It was lovely.
We went for a very belated lunch and then, in keeping with my aesthetic, went to go climb a mountain. Mount Victoria boasts one of the best views in Wellington, and it delivers. The climb to the summit is a little muddy and a little steep, but I did it in jeans and Converse with no issues. On the way up, a little graffiti on the signposts directed us to the Hobbit Hollow, where we learned part of the Lord of the Rings movies had actually been filmed. We recreated the scene where the hobbits dive off the side of the road and hide under tree roots to escape the Nazghul, and we’re pretty sure we used the exact tree roots used in the movie.
Along the top ridge of Mount Victoria (also called Matairangi) are a series of nature stops (for lack of a better descriptor); there are sanded stumps arranged and carved with steps to aid in climbing, long logs flattened on top and arranged over little ditches like bridges, and even a slightly goofy slide. We had a great time unleashing our inner children before powering up the steep and muddy slope to the summit. We got some amazing photos and amazing views, and I only fell on my butt once.
It was a long but delightful day that ended with a really fantastic dinner on Courtenay Place at an upscale burger joint called Mishmosh. I’m completely exhausted and excited (if not totally ready) to go to Sydney tomorrow!