Glowworms

Northland

There are wonderful caves all over New Zealand which are filled with stars. These are not real stars but glowworms who attach themselves to the roof of the caves and look like the milky  way when you turn off the lights. They are nothing like the fireflies (glühwürmchen) that we have in North America or Europe… they do not fly. They attach themselves to the roof of the caves and build themselves a cocoon from which they hang  30 mm “fishing lines” to catch insects which see their lights and  fly towards them.

We visited the glowworm cave in Waiomio to see this natural wonder for ourselves. I have always loved fireflies since my childhood summer in Iowa where Curtis and I made a flashlight by catching fireflies in a jar. (Do not attempt this experiment, it does not go well for the fireflies)

Hundertwasser Toilets

Uli had a historic moment as he needed to use the restroom and we happened to be very close to the world famous Hundertwasser Public Toilets. It turns out that Hundertwasser lived his last years in the Northland of New Zealand.

An evening ferry boat ride to  Urupukapuka Island for a hike and dinner was impressive. We found a lot of sheep but not a lot of people. The pictures speak for themselves. It was absolutely beautiful.

Waitanga day

Waitanga day is a national holiday in New Zealand to celebrate the signing of the treaty between the Maori and the English. This was 175 years ago. We attended the Waitanga Day festivities at the Waitanga treaty grounds which proved to be a big event. The Maori brought out their huge Waka (war canoes) which seat up to 98 people and paddled them around the bay. This proved difficult as there were a lot of children on board. Those friends of mine who are teachers can imagine how difficult it is to get this many young boys to paddle synchronously.

After the war canoes we watched some very fascinating Haka dances. These are Maori dance and singing groups. They use every part of their body, sticking out their tongues and rolling their eyes. I hope that my choir leader Christa will incorporate some of these moves into a concert someday.

After 4 days in the Northland we are heading down to the Coromandel to stay with our first Servas host family at the beach where they have a section (property with cabin)