Mt. Ruapehu - A Maori Love Story

 

Mt. Ruaphue and the surrounding valley was visually stunning. There is a lot of moss at Mt. Ruaphue and it is endangered and very old. It is is the tallest mountain in the North Island and very sacred lands to the local Maori Iwi (tribes).  Scenes from The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey was filmed at Mt. Ruaphue. They had to construct a scaffolding to protect the moss and other plants.

Maori Legend of Mounts Ruapehu and Taranaki (Egmont)

 

Ruapehu, the beautiful maid, was married to Taranaki. One day, while her husband was away hunting, she was wooed and won by Tongariro. When Taranaki returned at the end of the day he surprised the guilty pair. A titanic battle ensued in which Taranaki was defeated. He retreated towards the west coast, carving out the course of the Wanganui River as he went. When he reached the coast he moved northwards to the western extremity of the North Island, where he rested. Taranaki, now sits in silence looking towards his wife and his rival. In spite of her infidelity, Ruapehu still loves her husband and sighs occasionally as she remembers him, while the mist, which drifts eastward from his head, is the visible sign of Taranaki's love for her. For his part, Tongariro, who despairs of ever possessing her again, smokes and smoulders with anger.

An Advanture of Glow Worms and a Maori Powhiri Ceremony

 

 

 

At the Mitai Maori Village we got to experience a natural bush setting, and see warriors in traditional dress paddle an ancient warrior canoe (waka) down the Wai-o-whiro stream. We also saw glow worms in their natural habitat.

The Maori Village is a 15 minutes drive from Rotorua.  It was about a 4 hour tour and dinner. We saw a performance from the warriors of the ancient Maori and experience the powhiri (welcome ceremony).  They did a powerful display of haka song and dance before we dine on a traditional hangi feast, where the food was cooked slowly beneath the ground in earth ovens. It was a very interesting and enjoyable experience.

Lake Taupo - North Island's Heart of Blue and Turquoise Pearly Glimmer

Traveling to Lake Taupo we stopped and had tea at The Fat Trout Café. The lake  is the North Island’s heart according to Māori legend. It is  the largest lake by surface area in New Zealand. It has a perimeter of approximately 193 kilometres and a deepest point of 186 metres. Lake Taupo lies in a caldera created by a super volcanic eruption which occurred approximately 26,500 years ago. According to geological records, the volcano has erupted 28 times in the last 27,000 years but is now considered to be dormant.

Mauao 'Caught by the morning Sun'

Nancy and I visited Mt. Maunganui and I only walked a short distance on the track due to blisters.  I read the Maori mythology about the mount and thought it was as beautiful and as mythical as any Greek mythology I studied in college.

The Maori Mythology of Mount Maunganui (Mauao).

"There was once a hill with no name amongst the many hills on the edge of the forest of Hautere.
The nameless one was a pononga (slave) to the majestic mountain called Otanewainuku.
Nearby was the shapely form of the hill Puwhenua, a woman clothed in all the fine greens of the ferns, shrubs and trees of the God of the Forest Tane Mahuta. The nameless one was desperately in love with Puwhenua but her heart was already betrothed to the majestic form of the chiefly mountain Otanewainuku. There seemed to be no hope for the lowly slave with no name to persuade her to become his bride. In despair he decided to drown himself in Te Moananui-a-Kiwa ( Pacific Ocean). So he called upon his friends the Patupaiarehe (fairy people) who dwelt in the dark recesses of the forest. The Patupaiarehe were people of the night and possessed magical powers and they plaited ropes with their magic and began hauling him from the hill country towards the ocean. As they heaved and pulled they gouged out a valley and with his tears formed the Waimapu (weeping water) river. They followed the channel past Hairini, past Maungatapu and Matapihi and past Te Papa. They pulled him to the edge of the great ocean. He had one last look back at where he came from before plunging himself into the water to drown.  But he hesitated too long; it was already close to daybreak. The sun rose fixing the nameless one to that place. Being people of the night the Patupaiarehe fled back to the shady depths of the Hautere forest, before the light of the sun descended upon them. The Patupaiarehe gave the name Mauao ‘caught by the morning sun’. Today he is known by most as Mt Maunganui."   Source:  www.eske-style.co.nz