Early in college I read a book called Teacher by Sylvia Ashton Warner that confirmed for me that I too wanted to be a teacher. Detailing her career as a teacher of Māori children, Warner described the power of connecting deeply with Māori culture, language and storytelling as the primary method for teaching reading and writing to children who spoke but didn’t’t read or write English. Her love and respect for the children and their families shines throughout the book, and planted a seed in me to want to visit the island nation someday.
And here we are! I am, as they say, gobsmacked. No photos or films could prepare me for the beauty of the islands nor for the kindness of the people, who call themselves Kiwis. We flew into Auckland, then hopped a plane to Nelson on the South Island, in the process flying over miles of green mountains, blue-green ocean, golden sand beaches. After a night in Nelson at the tip of the South Island, we drove to Kaiteriteri in Tasman Bay where we hopped on a day cruise up the coast that included seeing dozens of baby seals frolicking, sting rays gliding along the ocean floor, and black billed spoonbills. That evening we toasted NZ with their excellent Chardonnay and woke briefly in the middle of the night to a sky dripping with stars—the Milky Way in all its glory.
The next day we drove over Takaka “Hill” (aka mountain) with its 257 switchbacks, stopping at Hawke’s Lookout (where a sweet Kiwi grabbed our photo), and then to the BnB where we’ve landed for a couple of nights, the better to explore Able Tasman National Park, a treasure that is being restored from logging days.
Within this vast area sits the word’s most pristine body of water, Te Waikoropupu Springs, a Māori sacred spot, now protected. Visiting this amazing place with Hank, a hydrogeologist, was like having my very own personal naturalist tour. He was in heaven! As we were leaving a young woman came into the welcome space next to the parking lot to pray and I realized we were visiting another sacred temple, as I had done in Thailand and Cambodia. A natural temple going back centuries upon centuries. Hopefully preserved and protected for as long as humans are present.
Amazing!