As we traveled on the north island, and especially on the Eastern Cape, we had many opportunities to observe Maori contributions to the decorative arts. Several of these were in historic churches and others were in public places like town squares or gates to schools.
After a 5-hour flight from Tahiti we landed in Aukland, New Zealand. We enjoyed a lunch with Goshen friends Paul and Kathy and then headed to Tauranga in our rental car. Our hosts there treated us to a wonderful breakfast the next morning and also a brief introduction to their town and waterfront. Then it was on to Opitiki for a night before continuing along the Eastern Cape to Tolaga Bay where we spent 2 nights. Our hosts there took us fishing and sightseeing by boat and also gave us suggestions for additional hiking in the area. From there we proceeded via Gisborne to Turangi at the south end of Lake Taupo. We hoped to do an all-day “alpine crossing” in Tongariro National Park but had to cancel that due to severe rain and gale force winds in the mountains. Instead we enjoyed a river walk in Turangi in light drizzle!
Twenty-four hours of traveling from Goshen found us finally falling into bed in Papette, Tahiti. The next morning we saw the beautiful spot where we were—black sand beach, crashing waves, greenery, and flowers. We took a self-guided walking tour of the town learning a bit of its history and culture. We ate the traditional lunch of Tahiti–poisson cru. This is a marinated fresh fish salad with cucumber, onions, and tomato with lime and coconut milk dressing—good. We ended with corossol ice cream which reminded us of our time in Ivory Coast. We visited the city market which reminded us of the Iron Market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. In the evening we watched traditional dancing from the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia.
The second morning we took a car tour around the island. It was good to see something other than urban area. The scenery in a number of places was just as Gauguin had painted. We watched more traditional dancing the second evening.
