From Sea to Mountains

We woke this morning on the shores of the Tasman sea in beautiful and peaceful Kawhia. The overnight temperature was perfect for sleeping and we settled right in. The little van is tight but acceptable quarters.

As usual we took our morning walk while we drank our coffees only this time we were able to walk on the black sandy beach and watch the early morning fishermen put in at the boat launch. The typical Kawhia boat has a stainless steel hull and about a 70 hp outboard. The tow vehicles included your normal pickemup truck, cars, tractors and even 4 wheelers. The launch is so well designed that putting in and taking out is a snap.

Kawhia has a strong Maori presence. Like most places in NZ, there is an overwhelming amount of Maori history. One of the links to the past is the prevalence of whale boat rowing. There is a race on New Years day and we saw a number of teams practicing in the harbor. We were able to get an up close look at one of the boats as it was being pulled out of the water. These are big wooden canoes; 40' long and 5' wide. The Museum of Civilization in Gatineau Quebec says that the supreme technological achievement of these early people was hunting whales using nothing more than wood, skins and rocks. Ranking right up there would be the voyages of the Maoris from the Hawaiian Islands to New Zealand in outrigger canoes navigating solely by the stars.

We would have stayed in Kawhia for New Years Eve but we have a reservation at Tongariro National Park. This is NZ's first national park and only the 4th in the world. In the late 1800's the Maori chief realized that unless he gave away the land with their 3 sacred mountains the belaganna culture would eventually take the land, divide it into tracts and develop it. The Maoris like all first nations don't recognize the ablity of anyone to own land. Land is a community not a commodity. His foresight allows us to sit in a beautiful forest setting, listening to the babbling brook and drinking fine wine. Thanks Chief.

Tomorrow we are hiking the Tongariro Crossing. Its called the best one day tramp in NZ and passes thru the valley of Mordor. We have shuttle tickets at 7am so we won't be staying up to ring in the new year.