Tag 121-123 'Kia Ora from New Zealand'

The past few days we have ARRIVED! We familiarized ourselves with our new car R2.0, checked the road conditions, and went shopping. Afterwards, we read reports and found some things to be good. Our virtual folder is full of things that make life more beautiful. When reading reports about NZ, sooner or later you come across the term 'Kiwi'. Yes, we all know Kiwis. The small hairy fruits from the supermarket, which also taste not bad. But here the talk was more about the bird - the national bird. Unfortunately, the prospects of seeing this Kiwi in the wild were rather unfavorable, if not almost at 0. He is a shy and nocturnal creature, who lives where no human goes. Alternatively, you could see him 100% in the zoo or animal park. However, we did not want to go there. Another possibility was a night walk for expensive money, where you also don't get a guarantee. We opted for the last option - a rescue center. Since unfortunately only 5% of all kiwi chicks survive, they are raised here under real conditions and later released back into the wild. We armed ourselves with a camera and off we went. Well, think again. No photography allowed!!!

The path led us into a pitch-dark room, even I as the super owl had some problems. Not to mention Falk 😂. Behind glass panes, a forest was imitated and now it was 'find the little bird'. It didn't take long before something hopped through the picture. Small chubby body, long thin beak, funny gait, and small black round eyes. That was it - the Kiwi. Before we could really admire him, he had already disappeared back into the forest. We stayed in front of the pane for over an hour and caught glimpses of him every now and then. A great experience.

On day 123, we wanted to delve a little into the history of NZ. Falk had already consulted Wikipedia the night before and gained a great knowledge advantage. The place of the event was supposed to be 'Waitangi Treaty Grounds'. After a very adventurous drive at 35km (~25km/h) over gravel and stone roads, we finally arrived after over 2 hours. We initially passed Paihia to get to Waitangi. This is the place where a treaty was signed officially designating NZ as a colony of GB. Unfortunately, we missed Waitangi Day the day before yesterday - 06.02. Which is considered a national holiday and celebrated on a large scale.

In addition to a guided tour of the grounds and many, many historical information, a typical Maori performance awaited us at the end. Frightening gestures and chants really put the warriors in a trance. Those who have watched 🏉 rugby should know the Haka of the New Zealanders. Today's ceremony was somewhat like that. Only 30 minutes🤣😉🏉. We were thrilled and disturbed at the same time.

We settled our debt with the Maori gods in the evening with a delicious pan pizza and peacefully wandered off to the dream guardians. 😴