What’s in a Name? 37 Letters, to Start

Day 60, Grand Asia 2017

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017 – Tauranga, New Zealand

Today the Amsterdam docked right at the downtown area of Tauranga, a small city that has become New Zealand’s largest port. We were in the shadow of the volcanic Mount Maunganui, and a number of passengers took the opportunity to stretch their legs and walk around the base of the mountain or even follow the path to the top.

I had signed up for an independent tour with a group of 15 today, and in hindsight might have been better off doing a tour yesterday instead, where there wasn’t so much to easily see and do near the pier. Regardless, I enjoyed the full-day tour to the town of Rotorua and its geothermal springs, mud ponds and geysers. Think of Yellowstone, but inside and around a city.

Rotorua sits on Lake Rotorua, and legend has it that the Māori people came from a union of two lovers who met on an island in the lake. The largest flock of inland seagulls in the Southern Hemisphere lives at the lake (file that away for trivia), as well as a few black swans. My lunch at a lakeside café included fish and chips and, of course, a local beer.

Our visit to a village of Māori people was a highlight of the tour. And that’s where we find the 37 letters – the village’s full name is Tewhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao, or for short Whakarewarewa. Translated, it means “the gathering place of the army of Wahaio.”

What I found most interesting is that the village sites on a geothermal site, and there are steam vents, hot pools and mud baths among the village houses. A short distance away are three geysers, two of which erupted while we watched.

During our tour, a member of the Māori family showed us how they heat their food in boxes built over steam vents and bath in mineral-rich water.

The visit ended with a performance of traditional Māori dances and songs. We had a repeat performance on the ship in the evening by a different group of performers.

On our way to Rotorua, we stopped at a kiwifruit farm. I guess when you live on an island with birds called kiwis and your nationality is known as Kiwis, you put the world fruit at the end of what we in the United States call a kiwi. They are grown on vines much like grapes, and tall thin hedges serve as wind breaks to protect the plants.

This is the farthest south we will be on this cruise. Also today three-fourths of our cruise is behind us. I’m sure the days will go faster and faster as we near San Diego.