It’s winter time and rain brings snow to Mt. Taranaki.  The volcano, our close  and peaceful neighbour,  hasn’t erupted since 1854.  So this natural wonder begs adventure.  It’s now been transformed from  “goblin forest” into a treacherous, snow covered mountain with ski slopes!  Yesterday, Des and I made the 45 min drive to the north entrance to begin our hike to the ski area.

Yes, I said, hike!  There’s no lift.  But, luckily you don’t have to ascend the full  2500m (8200 feet) to get there.  It’s a 25 minute hike up to the Manganui Ski Area.  This involves sweating.  You follow a rocky path for awhile, then pass quickly through a concrete tunnel, traverse the “avalanche-prone” gorge, and walk on a narrow trail cut into the side of the mountain. There’s a sparsely constructed, but much needed,  fence on the steep, sloping parts.   We past folks of all ages carrying their ski equipment, snowboards, and sleds. The flying fox was not operational today,  but this is a great help for transporting skis across the gorge section. When you arrive at the 1260 m ski area you are “warmed up nicely” as they say. The ski area might at first seem outdated but it’s very functional.  At the base beginners can get pulled a short ways along a tow rope.  A  T-bar pushes you up  a couple hundred meters to reach “intermediate” runs.  A fixed grip rope tow called the “nutcracker” takes skiers to more extreme runs. The club members say if you don’t know what a nutcracker is or what a harness is for, then you best not go up there.

Sunny days are the best and the weather was perfect for our hike.  There’s more snow to come so we’ll definitely go again with Kai for the full ski experience.  He spent the day with a good buddy biking and walking all over town. Later we met up for some grub!

When you think of New Zealand, you think of the haka.  In general, it’s a Maori war dance but there are different types for different occasions. There are sports and competition hakas, school hakas, funeral, wedding and ceremonial hakas. They are performed with vigor and passion to say the least.  Kai participated in this very cool tradition a few days ago when his house group competed for the best haka performance at New Plymouth Boys’ High.

Some schools select Maori elders to compose their own unique haka.  The Boys’ High chant is translated as : “Who are we creating this heavy sound. We are the descendants of our elder, Taranaki. Like our mountain we must hold fast the treasures of a true champion. Where is the influence? Where is the pride? Together we gather and stand to preserve these strengths.” However, improvisation is allowed.  It’s mainly conducted as a Full School Haka for home Rugby games.

Kai said the boys approach the haka competition seriously and the chant leader for each House is chosen carefully.  After learning the basics,  Kai practiced with his Barak House members to get the hand motions, slaps, leg position etc in unison.

“The kids take it very seriously and are passionate about the haka. If I chanted this before going into battle I would feel safe, or at least less scared, with my comrades around me.”

On a Monday morning I navigated the large campus and scrambled down to the old basketball courts adjacent to the rugby gully to watch the competition. Due to the headmaster’s audiovisual malfunction (the SD card got stuck in the camera) I was asked to film the entire event. This secured my position right up front!  Kai yelled and stomped and gave it his all  from the far back.  His Barak house placed 2nd in a close bid for the grand prize.  The shirtless and mostly hostel residents of  Hatherly House took 1st place.

 

Yes, watching the all house haka live did make the hair on the back of my neck stand up!

Enjoy the video:

 

In addition to seeing the sights, riding up mountains, surfing the waves, working (Des),  studying (Kai) and homesteading (Jen), we have met many new mates.  Rolling skating nights, table tennis tournaments and drone flying with Sam and Keunhye may not be 100% New Zealand, but it’s been a good time.

Sam is a fellow radiologist, Korean by blood, German by nationality and American at heart. Keun is an ice hockey player from Seoul, good at everything and a real gem.  I hosted gal movie night to watch my favourite flick, La La Land. Keun loved it too and  learned the theme song on the piano the next day. She sent it me as a thank you.

 

Kai thinks Sam is the best since he handed over his fancy new drone for Kai to pilot.   He also gave him a ride to school one morning on his day off.  (The car battery had died when Kai left the radio on all night.) Standing next to the car with his huge backpack he was thinking, “that’s gonna be a long, up hill  bike ride to Boys’ High.”

Below is a video from our first night at the East End Skate rink. I skated around the ready bench and Des did a couple of laps before thinking, “my knee feels funny after that last turn, I’m done.”  Kai went again the next week, improved, but still provided the entertainment for his new buddies.

We’ve become big fans of the local professional basketball team, The Taranaki Mountainairs. The quality of play is pretty high. Each of New Zealand’s 8 teams is allowed 3 import players (mostly from U.S. and couple from Texas).  The rest are local guys and Boys’ High has 2 development players on the team. Kai likes knowing their backstories and seeing them around town and talking it up, like at Subway after school.  We’ve attended all the home games. They are actually quite fun and Kai really enjoys meeting up with all his various new friends.

Des’ birthday dinner party at Punjab Grill.