Where are we?

We have arrived to our destination in New Zealand. We are 1.5 hours north of Auckland in the North island (see map below). After a 3 hour flight from Sydney, we went through the toughest customs check we’ve encountered yet. New Zealand is unique in that there is nothing that can harm you in the wild (bears, snakes, etc.) so they have reason to be strict on things entering the country. It took an hour+ with a personal check, long queue, another paper check and finally a baggage check. Therefore, we missed our bus from the city to up north. After some discussion our shuttle driver that took us to town, ended up driving us all the way to the camp (of course for a fee). It was definitely a blessing since the next bus was the following morning.

We arrived just in time to step into a Maori (the local and first people of New Zealand) welcoming ceremony. Men were standing up one at a time, speaking in their native tounge and then singing a song by themselves. Occasionally they would speak in English, thanking God for the opportunity to be there, for the land and blessings they were given. And then sometimes, the whole group would join in. Oh, and we were seated outside in two rows of chairs, then 10 yards of grass, and facing us was three rows of people that were the ‘welcomers’. After their side finished, the men on our side (the guests) started with the speeches. We thought Rainer would be next!

The whole thing ended with a hilarious greeting line that I will explain in a later entry. The ceremony, although surprising and unique, was enjoyable and expressed so much kindness for those of us that were there visiting. We felt welcomed.

Red star is where we are- twenty minutes from Paparoa: