A Watery Sunrise

Nicole - Flieg nicht so hoch mein kleiner Freund

Some music to cheer up a wet day.

Well the music is good I think the words are rather sad.

Maybe some German speakers can help me - I think it is a warning not to

'fly too high' - a bird flies too close to the sun and gets burned.

Cabin Fever

"Cabin fever is a slang term for a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a party is isolated and/or shut in, alone or together, for an extended period. Symptoms include restlessness, irritability, forgetfulness, and excessive sleeping". Wikipedia.

Hmm I knew there was a reason for my restlessness, irritability, forgetfulness, and excessive sleeping!

In the meantime the rain continues and the garden looks more drab and sadder by the minute.

On a brighter note - the Camelias are in flower so,when the rain stops, I will have some more photos to share.

And the little Wax Eyes (sometimes called White Eyes, Silver Eyes or Tauhou) are enjoying the windfall oranges I have cut in half and hung in the tree for them. (photo from Wikipedia)

The Big Chill Continues

So its soup time!

The day has been sunny and clear though (13 degrees Celsius), but there will be another good frost tonight for sure.

The Big Chill

This post is for my Northern Hemisphere friends to have a laugh!

Here are the first few paragraphs (edited) from an article in our local paper this evening - the front page in fact!

"THE BIG CHILL -0.7C ONE OF THE COLDEST DAWNS RECORDED IN 18 YEARS.

Tauranga recorded one of its coldest mornings in 18 years today when the temperature in the central city plummeted to a biting -0.7degrees C. The reading was taken at Tauranga Airport between 7am and 8am.

Today's chill follows a weekend of polar conditions that closed roads - including State Highway 29 across the Kaimai range on Saturday night and created havoc for emergency services. The highway was turned into 'a skating rink' as hailstones and snowflakes were compacted to ice."

So - yes we had snow in the bay of Plenty - but it was confined to the top of the Ranges. However here in the Bay it was one of the coldest nights we have had for while!

Further south of course it is a worse situation with closed roads all over the South of the South Island, and in central North Island as well. Plenty of snow on all the ski fields but people unable to travel to them.

Hinemoa and Tutanekai

This is photo of Lake Rotorua with Mokoia Island in the middle.
The lake is the scene of a beautiful Maori legend.

Here is a rather 'anglicised' version of: -
"The Love Story of Hinemoa and Tutanekai"
Hinemoa was a Chieftainess of a tribe,
who lived in a village of Owhata,
located by the shores of lake Rotorua.
On lake Rotorua there is the Island of Mokoia,
four kilometers across the water from Owhata.
On this Island there lived another well born but unfortunately
illegitimate young man named Tutanekai.
The tribes of the two young lovers would sometimes
visit together for special occasions, so it was during these times that
Hinemoa and Tutanekai would come to
know one another and fall in love with each other.
The love of Hinemoa and Tutanekai would grow
stronger and stronger with each passing day,
and there were times in the evening when
Tutanekai would declare his love for Hinemoa
from the Island of Mokoia.
Tutanekai would sit on the verandah of his house,
which was on a hillside overlooking the Lake,
and he would play his flute.
A gentle breeze in the evening would carry the sounds that
Tutanekai played drifting across the waters of lake Rotorua.
Hinemoa as she stood on the shores of the lake would
listen intently, embracing the music from
Tutanekai as he declared his love for her.

However as often as it happens in life Hinemoa's
relatives suspected that she had fallen
in love with Tutanekai and although he was
considered a nice young man, it was not
the wishes of the tribe that the two should unite together in marriage.
Every night they would ensure that all the canoes were
beached up so that Hinemoa would not be able to pull
the canoe into the water and make her way across the lake
to be with her lover Tutanekai.

One evening as Hinemoa stood on the shores of the lake with her
heart so heavy and eyes full of tears, listening to the melody of
Tutanekai's flute, she felt she could bear it no longer.
She lashed together six gourds in order to
keep her afloat and waded herself out into
the lake, being guided along by the music of Tutanekai,
she swam the long journey to Mokoia Island.
When she finally reached the island after hours of exhaustion,
she came across a hot pool and entered it.
She was trembling with cold from the journey
but her heart was full of joy.

Sometime later Hinemoa could hear footsteps coming and
she saw what appeared to be the shadow of a man filling a cala bash with
water from a cold spring next to the hot pool.
At that moment Hinemoa imitated the sound of a mans voice and
called out loudly “Who is that for!”
“I am the servant of Tutanekai, this water is for my master”, came the reply.
Hinemoa's heart was glad knowing that she was so close
to Tutanekai's home. She then seized the calabash from
the servant and broke it on the rocks.
The servant then raced back to his master Tutanekai and
reported to him the strange incident that occurred
at the hot pool, but Tutanekai was too tired and
heart broken to do anything.

The servant once again returned to fill the calabash with
water and again Hinemoa seized the
water calabash and broke it on the rocks.
This would happen time and time again until
Tutanekai finally decided to do
something about the matter himself.
Taking hold of his club he quickly hurried down to
the pool to kill this stranger that
had insulted him. Calling out for the intruder to
identify himself, Tutanekai quickly made
his way around the hot pool reaching around
the edges, until finally he grabbed the arm
of the adversary pulling him out of the water into the moonlight.

“Tutanekai” she whispered, “It is I Hinemoa”

Tutanekai surprised as he was, stood and stared at
her in the moonlight, they then
embraced each other as the two young lovers made
their way back to Tutanekai's house.
No longer would they be separated from each other again.

The next morning as the two lovers slept in late,
Tutanekai's father sent his servant off to wake him,
it was then reported by the servant that as he approached the door of
Tutanekai's house, as he looked into the room he could see
two pairs of feet and not one lying in Tutanekai's bed.

After that Hinemoa and Tutanekai emerged
together embracing one another.
From that moment on their union and love for one another was
accepted by their relatives and tribes.

This true love story of Hinemoa and Tutanekai is considered to be
the greatest love story that is recorded in Maori History,
the descendants of these two young lovers still
play out this famous legend today in the city of Rotorua,
serenading wedding couples with their world famous love song
“ Pokarekare ana” the greatest love song in the
History of the Maori People.

This is Where your old telephones Go!

(you will need to enlarge the photo)

Bula

Last weekend I went to a family wedding.

This was a wedding with a difference, a blending of several cultures.

The Bride, was my neice, my brother's daughter, and although born in New Zealand, she has a German mother. Her new husband is Fijian. His family have lived and worked in New Zealand for about 10 years. They come from one of the smaller Fijian islands.

After the usual wedding ceremony and dinner we were invited around to the Groom's parents house for the evening. What a wonderful evening we had! The furniture had been pushed back, the lounge floor had been covered with traditional woven mats, some of the men had changed into lavalavas, and the women were in their beautiful Island dresses.

They began with the kava ceremony and we all partook of the drink (my nephew reminded me as I was happily sipping my third drink - you know that you can get smashed/stoned on this stuff!). I didn't get smashed or stoned - just was feeling very 'mellow' and had slightly numb lips, but decided perhaps it was time to accept the offered cup of tea!

Kava has a rather unusual taste, a bit like the water that potatoes has been boiled in. Not unpleasant but not highly flavoured either.

Then the singing began. This. was. amazing. They sang mostly hymns, in harmony, it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. They sang like angels. More visitors arrived carrying ukeleles. More singing well into the night.

Unfortunately I was the driver for some of the older guests and had to depart, never have I had to so reluctantly leave a party! My neice, in the latter stages of pregnancy, also needed to go home.

And two days later we welcomed our beautiful little great-nephew into our family, part Fijian, part New Zealander, part German, - but above all a citizen of the world.

He will grow up speaking German, English and Fijian and be comfortable in all three cultures.

Bula , Willkommen and Kia ora to little Mikaele.

Brief Return

I am back again, briefly though, from my travels to Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch.

The photo is taken outside an antique shop in a small town called Paeroa.

They always have this amazing line up of old dolls prams. As well as a shop crammed full of knick knacks.

Garden Break

Here are some photos taken this morning of the current garden colour.

A poinsettia which grows in a very sheltered spot , my slipper orchid is covered in blooms, and some autumn colour - leaves from the flowering cherry tree, and our little Japanese maple wearing its annual red coat.

And its time for me to take a break also. I have a very busy month and will be away from home for much of the time.

Several members of our extended family are having minor operations that require someone to 'watch over' them afterwards. As none of them have close family nearby, I am the closest to hand. And I enjoy helping out.

And in the midst of it all there is a wedding in Christchurch in the South Island to attend so I am having a short trip to the chilly south. A wonderful chance to see some of my cousins - the warmth of their welcome will offset the chill of the weather for sure.

I will stop by from time to time to check your blogs but won't be posting here until the world returns to normal!

See you in July sometime.

PS And its my birthday today.