Day 19 ~ I Got Hongi-ed in Auckland

Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going. ~ Paul Theroux

Today we were travelers.

Haere mai is the Maori way of saying howdy!

Yesterday, we had to tender in the Bay of Islands. For the uninitiated, that means the Pacific Princess drops anchor in deeper water, while the crew lowers a few of the life boats and we take a short ride in one to a dock where we meet our excursion bus. Today the PP is docked right in the heart of downtown Auckland. We walked off the ship with no specific plan in mind.

Until we ran into this fellow. Meet Jeff.

He offered us a private tour of downtown in his tuk-tuk (imagine a glorified golf cart) at a reasonable price. We’d had a vague idea about finding the Hop-On Hop-Off bus a few blocks away and it had just begun to rain, so Jeff and his tuk-tuk looked like an attractive alternative.

As Jeff drove us around, he offered a running narrative about the history of the peoples who settled there and geography of the area. Auckland is situated on a number of extinct volcanoes and a good bit of its downtown has been reclaimed from the sea (rather like the Back Bay area of Boston!) It’s a fascinating mix of Victorian and Edwardian structures snugged next to modern buildings. And when new construction is started, care is taken to incorporate some Maori designs into the project. The result is a proud mix of styles that just works!

From the tuk-tuk, the rain made for a fuzzy view unless we looked out the open side door.

Like many Kiwis (what New Zealanders call themselves) Jeff is of both Maori and European heritage and he shared both of those cultures with us. For example, NZ was the first developed country to allow women to vote, much earlier than Britain or the US. 

Jeff sang Maori songs as we rode along and taught us to say “Ka pai!” which is the Kiwi equivalent of “It’s all good.”     

 

The Auckland Bridge was lit with thousands of lights--alternating red, green & white when we sailed away later.

His love for his homeland shone through the entire trip (a little more than an hour) and he made us feel like very welcome guests. When the tour was over, he drove onto the wharf and took us up under a covered entrance so Herkimer and I wouldn’t have to get wet (it was still raining to beat the band). Then before we parted company, he asked if we  could “hongi,” a nose & forehead together gesture of greeting or farewell. We share a breath. We share the same thoughts—a literal expression of a meeting of the minds.

It was a touching moment. Ever so much better than climbing on a big impersonal bus. We felt like we’d made a friend in New Zealand. So if you’re ever in Aukland, look him up at www.kiwituktuk.com!  

We had a lazy afternoon on the ship, reading and relaxing. Then we met our new friends Kristy and Dave for an early supper. In honor of my mom’s birthday, I splurged and had the Love Boat Dream dessert (Mom’s favorite Princess dessert—a heavenly chocolate mousse!)

Before the end of the evening Kristy and I were finishing each other’s sentences and blurting out absolutely unison thoughts. Once, Dave gave us a quizzical look and said, “You guys are scaring me.”

Then we went to Haka Legend, the folkloric show of Maori performers. It was amazing. The dancing was raw and powerful, but it was the vocals that really blew me away. I guess I should have expected the culture who gave the world the amazing soprano Kiri Tekanawa to produce other stellar voices, but I was thrilled with the quality of the singing. I took a couple of videos but I’ll have to wait until I return home to add them to the blog. (Internet service continues to be as quick as a three toed sloth.)

Even the Maori maidens were fierce.

The show was so excellent, we hung around in the Cabaret Lounge and snagged front row seats for the late show too. We were joined by Shirley and Dave, our usual table mates. To borrow from the Coldwater Gazette (the fictional small town newspaper in my novels):

A good time was had by all.