Newtown Festival

Newtown is my favourite area of Wellington for its racial and socioeconomic mix, its Maori and Pasifika representation, and its interesting historic buildings. The festival brought people out by the hundreds to enjoy music, food, games and fabulous weather!

Go By Bike Day

Today was "Go By Bike" day, with more than 600 Wellingtonians mounting bicycles and receiving free breakfast and a live concert at the City Hall.

Bike the Bays

On Saturday, the city council hosted an annual 32-km bike ride around the Miramar peninsula in Wellington. Nearly 2000 riders enjoyed the beautiful weather and scenery, followed by a picnic and live band. They say, "you can't beat Wellington on a great day," and I think I'd have to agree.

By the way, did anyone notice the "planes crossing" sign in the last photo?

Wellington Pasifika Festival

The first Pacific Festival (of what hopes to be an annual event) was held in Wellington today, with local Pacific Island groups performing song and dance. The event was very popular and provides a great source of cultural pride for various Pacific Islanders in New Zealand. Here are photos of dancers from Tonga, Tokelau, Fiji and the Cook Islands. More photos are in the slide show to the right-hand side of this page, or here (click on photos to enlarge).

Australian Apology

Although New Zealand IS NOT part of Australia (and, "no," Australia is not part of New Zealand, either), today marked an historic event in Australia which is well worth mentioning.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised in Australian parliament to all Aborigines for laws and assimilation policies that "inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss" on Aboriginal people. He singled out the "Stolen Generations" of thousands of children forcibly removed from their families by Australian government and church missions.

(NB: This is not my photo, but isn't it very nice?)

Oxfam Trailwalker - The "Sockranos" Team

On April 5-6, three colleagues of mine will join me on a 100-km (62 mile) walk to raise funds for Oxfam to help overcome poverty and injustice. Our team, The Sockranos, must complete the full walk in under 36 hours and we must raise a minimum of $2000 (not including the $625 entry fee and expenses for the weekend that will come out of our pockets).

If you are interested in learning more, check out the event website.

If you would like to donate to our team (with a credit card), please, please, please click here. 10-20 cents per kilometer can go a long way. To give you some indication your money will buy:

• $10 - nutritional meals for 50 children
• $12 - a pair of chickens
• $15 - three ducks
• $25 - will plant 25 trees
• $80 - will provide safe water for 50 people

Note: These are based on New Zealand dollars, and the U.S. Dollar is doing well against the New Zealand dollar ($1 NZD = $0.78 USD). So, a $25 NZD donation is actually just under $20 USD.

Waitangi Day

These photos are of a Māori waka taua (double-hulled war canoe). The facial tattoos (ta moko) represent whakapapa (genealogy) and express both individual and iwi (tribal) identity. The shell eyes are meant to intimidate, representing eyes that never shut.

The canoe is located in Waitangi, where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between British settlers and Māori chiefs on February 6, 1840. The Treaty established a British governor in New Zealand, recognised Māori ownership of their lands and other properties, and gave Māori the rights of British subjects. However, there are two versions of the Treaty - Māori and English - each with significantly different interpretations, resulting in many misunderstanding.

Until the 1970's the New Zealand courts and parliament had largely ignored the Treaty (and many adults have learned in school that it was signed as a "benevolent" act on the part of the Crown). Today, it is generally regarded as the founding document of New Zealand (Aotearoa) as a nation, but there is much ongoing debate over the extent to which it is truly honoured.

New Zealand International Sevens

I forgot to mention that during the first weekend in February, Wellington's Westpac Stadium hosted the New Zealand International Sevens rugby championship. Although New Zealand beat Samoa, 22-17 in the finals, I don't know if the win officially counts since the lead player on the New Zealand team (responsible for scoring two tries) is Samoan (Victor Vito).

But, most people don't come to the Sevens to watch the games, they come to put on "fancy dress" (costumes).

Wellington Anniversary Day

Yet another public holiday! In addition to 23 days of annual leave each employee receives in New Zealand, there are about 13 public holidays. Today is the anniversary day for Wellington province (each province has one). I'm not sure how this date was selected - maybe people found it hard to return to work after Christmas week, or maybe they felt Waitangi Day was too far away. For whatever reason, today was chosen and New Zealanders (in Wellington province, anyway) make the best of a day off from work.

Other Dunedin Photos

Having two nights in Dunedin gave twice the opportunity to take photos. Unfortunately, I can only post a couple for each blog entry. Here are a few churches and other interesting buildings in the city:

The Catlins

The Catlins is a beautiful area on the Southeast coast of New Zealand's South Island. The area is full of coastal scenery, agricultural hills and forests. Here are a few photos of the furthest point south I have ever been, fossils from a petrified coastal forest and coastal areas.

Milford Sound (Fiordland)

Milford Sound, on the Southwest edge of the South Island is truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen (sorry that the pictures cannot do it justice).

Queenstown - Where Adrenalin Flows Like a River

If you are looking for adventure, come to Queenstown - from skydiving and bungy jumping to quad biking and riding the luge, this town has it all! I never thought I would enjoy quad biking as much as I did, and I only rolled over once! The luge wasn't bad, either.

St. Bathan's and the Vulcan Hotel

Who knew that a 10-km side-trip off the beaten path would yield such treasures as the Vulcan Hotel and a large quarry. No sign of Dr. Spock, though....

Dunedin, Otago

Dunedin (Derived from Edinburgh) has a Scottish heritage and hosts New Zealand's most prestigious university (University of Otago). Although it was a rainy night when I arrived, I took a few interesting photos to give you an idea of what I saw there. I spent my first and last nights here, with the other nights spent on the road. Here are a couple photos from the train station:

Mere Kirihimete

Mere Kirihimete! (Maori: Merry Christmas!). After 4 office Christmas parties (one hosted by the Auditor General, one hosted by the performance audit group (my office), one hosted jointly with the financial auditors, and another one hosted by my office), I needed a vacation!

Fortunately the city of Wellington shuts down for a month at Christmastime, so I went to New Zealand's South Island with Teki and some visiting friends from Hong Kong.

We flew into Dunedin (Otago), a college town with a few nice pinot noirs, and drove a large loop through St. Bathan's (limestone quarry), Queenstown (where adrenaline flows 24/7), Milford Sound (quite possibly the most dramatic landscape in New Zealand), Invercargill (Southernmost city) and the Catlins (coastal drive). Next few entries will cover the trip....

A Few Good Movies

Although work has kept me busy of late, I have enjoyed a few recent movies I rented from the local video shop, including Hula Girls, Angel-a and Paprika. I also saw Once at the theatre and would recommend it (particularly good soundtrack), but I think it left the U.S. theaters many months ago. Let me know if you have any other recommendations.

Welcome to New Zealand

There's much more to see than just sheep!

Like Father, Like Son(s)

Teki's brother, Tele, visited from Tonga over the weekend with his two sons George (Siaosi) and David (Tavita). We all had the opportunity to enjoy being nine years old (at the arcade) and we also went for a night hike to the wind turbine.

Make Way for Penguins