I have only been here a week

This first week has been nothing short of the ride of my life. I can’t imagine the awesomeness that awaits me in the next fourteen that I will be here. What better way to start my description of this week than describing some of the amazing people that I have the pleasure to be with. Basically, think of how you might describe my demeanor and zest for the outdoors, multiply it by 26 and then add a factor of some measure to incorporate the added energy from all of us interacting together. We have not stopped laughing and sharing our skills and experiences since we arrived. From left to right in the picture of “the best van ever,” at least for that day: James, Ben, Lauren, Marissa, Amy, Max, and Heidi. Max and James are from Michigan. I have no idea why I haven’t met those two, yet in my college career.

For our first trip away from EcoQuest campus, we went south around the Firth of Thames, through the city of Thames where we later stopped for supplies (pronounced Tims) to a part of the Coromandel Range at the Kauaeranga Valley.






We hiked 650m vertical and about 5km out to the Pinnacles, my first mountain summit ever.












This is my victory photo and the view from the top. Notice it is a bit dark and foggy. We got up at 5a in order to get watch the sun rise from the summit, which didn't happen because of the blanket of clouds.












Pictured here are two of our field leaders, John and Sally. Both have a wealth of information and experiences to share. Each could serve as the ideal icon for the quintessential mountain man and woman. The lesson of the weekend was the skill of thought. How do you make observations and then formulate a well-stated conclusion without any assumptions or jumps in logic?





This is a collection of pictures from the hike. The tree shown here is the Kauri tree. It was the perfect tree for harvesting, growing almost vertical with no extra branches along the trunk. Note the scandisk card on the stump for some reference of size. And this is a relatively small tree. Emily and Tom are in the picture with one of the awesome views available during the hike. The last photo is the view from the watering hole we swam at during lunch.



















Although I don’t have pictures of the last few days of the week, or rather Tuesday and Wednesday, the days were surely notable nonetheless. Tuesday the Ecoquest students were invited to the maurae, sacred land, of the local iwi, or tribe, the Nati Pawa. There we were a part of the powhiri (remembet “wh” sounds like an “f”) ceremony where we were welcomed as one of them. This is an extremely significant and momentous occasion as very few pakeha, or non-maori , are welcomes onto the maurae let alone welcomed into the tribe. We even learned a song, a waiata, in Te reo, the language of the maori, to sing to give power to our elder’s speech. Johno, the general manager of EcoQuest spoke on behalf of all of us students. After the ceremony before tea we were given a chance to speak freely. I was the only student to have the gumption to say a few words of what the occasion meant to me, but I completely messed up the maori tradition of speaking and even forgot a waiata of my own. No one seemed to care and most of the students thanked me for my effort, but I hope to follow the right protocol next time we are at the maurae.

A whara nui is the meeting house on a maurae. It is also the home of the elders. Most maori are able to recite their ancestral line to include about a thousand names. The whara nui houses carvings and depictions of the ancestors of the iwi. Because of this tradition one of the main points of the powhiri is to recognize those close to the manuhiri (visitors to be welcomed) who had recently deceased. This truly struck me as Roy Watrous's "Muster" was in my head on the way to the mauri. My thoughts are with you Lucia.

Wednesday was Waitangi Day. It celebrated the signing of a treaty that gave rights to the mauri people from the crown, Britain. However, at first the Crown disregarded this treaty and mistreated the indigenous people of Aoteareo. Recently, the Crown has redressed theses issues and this day of celebration has become one of identity for the mauri. The Prime Minister Helen Clark spoke where we were at Manukau City and then walked around the event greeting people. I got to shake her hand and tell her a bit about what I was in the country for. We even got a picture. I will certainly post it when it gets to me. Her counsil was quick to mention the proximity with which we might get to George Bush, even as American citizens.

Well that is it for now. I am sure y’all will have many questions. Ask and I will do the best I can to get back to you. I am thinking of you all. Cheers!