Well last night I was so tired I was in bed and sleeping just after 9pm. I obviously needed it as I was not awake until 8ish. Today is the first time we are glad we have coats with us, it has tipped it down or drizzled all day.
This morning we had a walk into the town centre which is a 20 -30 minute walk away. We popped into a couple of shops and made some purchases before having coffee in a nice café. We did not have long before we had to head back for lunch.
Kaikoura itself is a pretty standard NZ town and there is nothing much to it, we are not seeing it at its best though.
The tour this afternoon was not a cheap trip but it was interesting and very well done. If you want dancing, singing and the traditional style Maori experience then it is not for you. If you want an understanding of contemporary culture then it is exactly that. Our tour started with a visit to an old Pa or fortified Maori village, all that is left are the earthworks. When we arrived we were told about the original peaceful tribes and the invading others and the use of a Pa. As a race the Maori are pretty new, about 800 - 1000 years and are from the South Pacific Islands.
We were told the women had to enter the Pa first and as we did the lady, Tanya sang a song of welcome. As this song is from women it is received by women, hence ladies first. This was then followed by a speech of welcome and an introduction.
Your Mountain
Your River
Your tribe
Where your canoes
Your Name

You then do the hongi or pressing of noses, this is twice for a new person. This is from the belief that mother earth and father sky where married and had a son who separated them. The son asked the mother to help him create a woman. When she was made he pressed noses twice and on the second press he blew causing the woman to sneeze and take the first breath of life. This is of such importance that although Mana, or pride is very important and wars have broken out over small insults that war has never broken out after the hongi has been done.

After the Pa we went to South Bay where they showed us the carvings and explained them, mainly with regard to stories of Maui. He then drove us to the Marae which had statues outside representing three important elders of the tribe, 2 statues of gods which made the mountains, a quill to represent the signing of Waitangi in the area. There has been ongoing problems with regard to the forced sale of land back then which was only resolved 10 years ago when the tribe were given $170 million and a written apology. With good advice they have quadrupled this money and have invested wisely.
After this we went to their house for afternoon tea, this is another important part of the welcoming process. While there we met the tour leaders grandsons who where there and both mad on Ben 10 and cute.

After this we drove about 20 minutes to a forest, while on the road we were shown how to do some flax weaving and we made flowers. The bush walk took us close to the foundations of a former loggers school and then on through a short track. We saw a number of native plants and discussed their uses. We saw the hammer tree, canoe tree, silver fern etc. Elizabeth was so tired she fell asleep in my arms while we were on the walk, she is now very heavy to carry!

While on the trip they taught us a song written for the tour, it was really to illustrate how important singing was in their culture. Before the Europeans arrived they passed knowledge on through carvings, stories and songs, there was no written language.