Te Puia Cultural Experience & Redwood Treetopwalk

Halli Hallo and welcome back,

I'm sweating here in my hammock (which I have more or less permanently claimed) and I'm at least finishing the posts for which I have already uploaded the pictures, as the connection here is quite poor for further uploads.

In my last post, I already mentioned that I met up with a few friends, and due to our job as tour guides, we were able to do several activities very cheaply or even for free. So, we met for morning coffee in the Redwoods in Rotorua and took a little stroll here.

The walk took us through an impressive forest of giant redwood trees, known for their size and trunk diameter since they can live for so long. There was also a super clear little stream flowing through the woods.

On the way, we also found a tree that had fallen across the path, and we absolutely used that as a climbing and photo opportunity. We got some group shots and a few good individual photos out of it.

After the approximately 1-hour walk (which included nearly 200 meters of elevation gain), we found a huge event tent in the middle of the woods, and after I started dancing a little waltz, the stop turned into half an hour of spontaneous dancing. What a blast! We danced a bit of swing, waltz, and also some disco fox—switching partners but also dancing alone. How beautiful is life?

Afterwards, we went to lunch together and shared stories about how we all ended up in New Zealand and the relationships we had before and during our time there. In short, it was a bit of trauma-bonding that brought us all closer together, and with 2 of the attendees, I became so close that I hope these two people will remain in my life. I will definitely try to make that happen.

And because we hadn't experienced enough yet, we went to the Cultural Experience at Te Puia. A Maori village that invites travelers and Kiwis to learn more about Maori culture and to become part of it for an evening. Te Puia is special in that this village is also involved in a training institution. This means that clan members from other tribes across New Zealand are selected and can learn at this site—learning about the culture, wood carving, jade carving, weaving, art, and the ceremonies and history in general. Once they complete their training, the members return to their clan and spread their knowledge, allowing the entire clan to benefit from it.

The village is located directly next to one of New Zealand's largest geysers, and if I'm not mistaken, also in the southern hemisphere. It's a simply wonderful spot on earth and a significant core memory in New Zealand, since we were able to enjoy a dinner and a traditional ceremony including Haka (the classic Maori ritual) alongside a guided tour of the training center.

For dinner, there were traditional Maori dishes, and there was also something that reminded me so much of home and my grandma: red fruit pudding with vanilla sauce. So it wasn't exactly like grandma's, but it was indeed very similar. Overall, the food was very delicious with a few exceptions that were just a bit unusual for my taste buds. This included the steamed pudding, which is more of a pastry than a classic pudding and is cooked over the geyser or the steam from the geothermal baths.

The part of the evening that almost brought us all to tears was the ceremony with the traditional Haka. We were welcomed as a group in the tribal house and got to experience traditional dances, music, and language there. Words can't fully describe what I felt: gratitude that this culture was shared a bit with us and fascination that these centuries-old rites are still maintained on this island and are also being taught here again.

Following the ceremony, we had hot chocolate with the geyser in the background. WOW!

A dream day that wasn't even over, as a grand finale, we had the Redwood Treetopwalk tour in the dark. A path 16 meters high, laid out through the trunks of the redwoods and illuminated at night with dramatic lights, making visitors dream.

And these decisive days and moments give me despite setbacks now and then such a strong feeling that I did everything right by going traveling! I am grateful that I can travel and gather these experiences. I hope you enjoy these posts and maybe one or two of you feel encouraged to take a step into the unknown.

Until the next post,
Your Britta