14 Aug
Harangi Marae Maara Kai
Gardening at Lisa's sister, Moana's, permaculture gardens at their Iwi's Marae with Lisa, Jamie and Josie. Moana reckons we've done two weeks of work in just a few hours. Josie remarks how special it is that we're here, as european descendants, working in this Maori community garden as welcome insiders.
And there is an energy about the place. I feel a clarity of thought and a deep focus. Working in the dark soil rich in history. A shared history that bonds children like roots. Village mentality. Reciprocity. Positivity. I feel motivated to contribute to my community, wherever I find it in the end. My head is buzzing with so many ideas that seem legitimately achievable and exciting I run to write them all down as soon as we return to Awhi.
We visit Maryblossoms kura (school) after lunch. Sitting in yellow chairs at the front of the room on display for their wondering eyes. They're attentive and respectful, curious about who we are and why we're here. They want to know about us, asking us (Dan, Sina, Amoundine, Mireia, Jamie, myself) questions about our lives. One wide eyed girl asks why we look so dirty. Because we work on a farm and rarely shower, we respond. A few noses wrinkle, grossed out at the thought.
Maryblossom's kura teaches only Maori. Only Maori is spoken and written, and Maori heritage, culture and traditions are shared and practiced to strengthen pride and confidence in their native roots. It's celebrated, encouraged, being Maori. The kids, ages 6-9, dance and sing for us, including a moving performance of the haka, a ceremonial war dance. These young kids are learning the language, the practices, the stories, the dances of their people. Touching their origins, grabbing onto pieces of what makes them whole. Their community is ingrained, it's been a part of them since day one. The collective support and love and care as much a part of them as the stories of their ancestors carved into the Marae woodwork.
I'm moved because I have no life experience I can relate to this. I don't have a rich ancestry I'm deeply in touch with, one I celebrate and make part of my daily life. And in the states the closest comparison I could make would be to the Native American Indian experience. This connection to their land and their heritage, as much a part of their essence as the rivers that flow through it. I'm smiling with juicy eyes as I watch Maryblossom's fiery orange curls bounce and she sneaks a little grin my way. This little girl has more self awareness and possession in her little finger than I feel I have in my whole body at times. She's spunky and wicked smart and so full of love. She could rule the world someday, and I hope she does.
17 Aug
Hokoi Rotopunamu with Awhi Whanau
The whole of Awhi Farm takes the day off for a group adventure tramp around Lake Rotopunamu with Lisa as our spirit guide. After a dense winding lush bush walk, the lake reveals itself. And that's exactly how it feels. The lake itself is a secret and we've been permitted to witness the last and most special, sacred and blissful place on earth. After the first emergence the group treks on, but just a few of us slyly hang back. A silent group consensus gives way to the quick stripping of layers and suddenly a great commotion of splashing and shrieking erupts as three of us plunge into the icy water.
On an intellectual level I know that the lake is cold. But my skin screams a different note. Upon breaking the still glass and feeling the first spray my skin is zapped with a tingling, buzzing energy, subtle stimulating bolts of electric sensations crawling over and through every pore. Much like I'd imagine Frankenstein feeling after the first shock of life. We exit the pool with only slightly less vigor than when we entered and I'm struck with the awareness that I am thoroughly warm and my skin feels different. New, fresh, smooth, alive. Cleansed. I close my eyes and embrace my friends, drinking in this red-letter moment.
After the sacred skinny dip I begin noticing the tiniest details, patterns and forms of life everywhere I look. My eyes opened a little wider. A tree dancing alone in the breeze, the veins of a kidney fern, the spores springing from a chunk of moss, the fern spirals curled in the Fibonacci sequence.
We conclude our hokoi with a trip to the base of Mount Tongariro to another larger lake with an island in the middle. Lisa explains that she can trace her lineage to when this island was a thriving Maori settlement, joined to the mountain by a land-bridge. It is here that her ancestors cultivated their food in the rich soil, where they sang, danced, were born and died. Where her whanau raised future generations with a deep connection and reverence with the land, water and sky. It's on this island the haka was first evoked.
We munch our picnic quietly, warming our skin in the receding light of the sun and the gratitude of being present in this moment.
18 Aug
We pack our things and give tearful hugs & kisses goodbye to our Awhi wolf pack. The only thing that keeps me from totally losing it is that I know I'll see them all again in a few weeks. MB's eyes juicy, her red hair wild as she runs alongside TinTin on our way out the driveway. These are people I'll feel homesick for.
We make it far enough north in time to tour Hamilton Gardens, a free botanical center with entire plots of land dedicated to examples of sustainable permaculture, medicinal and culinary herbs, Italian villas, Japanese zen… you get the idea. A lovely venue full of color and creativity to calm and inspire.
19 Aug
With our ten day silent Vipassana Meditation course rapidly approaching we decide to hit it full on by going black water tubing in Waitomo Caves. Floating in complete all encompassing darkness on a subterranean river with hundreds of glow worms' bioluminescent poo twinkling delicately above like stars in the Milky Way. 
B, our spirited Kiwi guide, takes us on an extra special side trip to a grove of multi-million year old stalactites and stalagmites, many as thin as straw and fragile as glass. Their long conical reflections are mirrored in a perfectly clear, still mineral pool. The artificial and foreign lighting illuminates these ancient relics who, until very recently, lived for millions of years in a sea of blackness, untouched by even the tiniest inkling of natural sunlight. B remarks that it's actually safer unground like this during an earthquake. These diaphanous archaic tubular mineral deposits have been through countless shifts in the earth's crust and remained unscathed and intact.
Belly up on the tube, face turned toward the intergalactic stream of glowing invertebrates, I sing Incubus's "Aqueous Transmission" to myself and really do feel my heart overflow.
20 Aug
The sun wakes us up at Bridal Veil Falls carpark and walk to top of falls through native bush. From the top of the fall to the lookout bridge at the bottom there are over 250 steps, each further reaching than the last. The waterfall itself cuts through a basalt lava slab eroded by an ancient river. The pool which formed below undermined the slab over time and eventually the rock face broke away and a sheer cliff transpired. An excellent, energizing thing to do first thing in the morning, we descend the 264 steps to the bottom, behold it's beauty, then scramble back to the top. 
Raglan is next on our check list. A healthy, young town boasting to have at least one of the world's most famous surf beaches. The swell is mellow today, but we get the idea at Ngarunui & Manu beaches.
1 Sept
You know those videos of someone getting punched in the face in slow motion? Well that's what Vipassana felt like. Only put it on mute and slow it down to last ten days. It's almost still to fresh to take the experience and put it into words. And sometimes there are just no words to adequately describe a sensation quite like this one.
I'll simply say this: I've begun to accept that everything is always changing, from the atoms I am made of to the mountains that tower above me, moment to moment, and that it's actually not scary but one of the most exciting realizations I have had. Rather than latch on and crave for stability and permanence, revel in the beauty of uncertainty. Be observant, mindful, patient and persistent. Radiate compassion, empathy and love. All sound like big undertakings, which they are, but I feel ready to practice what I preach with confidence and heart.
What better way to break the silence of an arduous ten day introspective journey than beach, wine, music, dancing, laughing and having the greatest yarn with my best friend? We head to Muriwai Beach and behold the Ganet colony that calls these steep, windy cliffs home. When the adolescents are only a few weeks old they spread their wings, catch an updraft, and follow it west across the Tasman until they reach land. No one tells them to do it. They just need a proper OE (oversea experience) to explore the world in all its divine synchronicities. What a concept!
Projected future: Head to Coromandel to chill out at Wayne's and readjust to reality. Mission to Turangi and Palmerson North to reunite with Awhi wolf pack. Move to Wellington and be whoever I wish. Whoever comes out naturally to thrive in a vibrant, buzzing city. Do it just to show myself I can.
Pictures from Waitimo Caves Black Water Tubing:
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