February 2, 2023
Auckland had a respite from the rains today. It was a little cloudy, but overall a beautiful day. We saw some signs of the extraordinary flooding that had afflicted the region less than a week ago, but they are recovering quickly. The roads we took were water-free, but the guide described how water covered those same roads at the height of the flooding- rising high enough to reach the tops of cars in the tunnel areas.
We went to the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park first. We had an amazing view of the area at the overlook (the water is not usually brown, that was from the silt and debris stirred up by the flooding) and saw some art created by students for the park.
Afterwards, we went on a bush walk where we learned about the trees and native New Zealand plants.
Our guide’s favorite is the Kauri tree. The Kauri tree he showed us was just a baby at 25 years, but they can live up to 2000 years and grow over 150 feet high. Kauri wood is highly prized and a single slab of wood has sold for over $100,000 dollars! They are now protected and can not be cut down, although with special permission branches that the tree drops can be used. The Maori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) used the kauri for boats and homes. It has a beautiful grain and unlike other large trees, its trunk does not taper and get smaller as it grows, but stays the same circumference. It prunes itself, dropping its lower branches as it gets taller which is one of the reasons its trunk continues to grow at the same size. The gum, or resin, of the kaori tree was also prized. The Maori used it as a fire starter, a torch (with the flax plant), for tattooing, and for jewelry. Later, New Zealand settlers exported the gum to be turned into varnish.
New Zealand has no native mammals, only birds, insects, and a few lizards. So before man brought in farm animals, there were no grazing mammals like deer that the plants needed to protect themselves from. Instead there was a large bird called the moa. Now extinct, the moa was related to the emu and would eat the plants. To protect themselves, some plants adapted to grow long skinny leaves to trick the moa into thinking they were not good to eat. Some would be skinny when growing close to the ground, but would get broader as they grew higher in the trees.
Te papa, the silver fern, contains special meaning for both the Maori and the later settlers in New Zealand. The Maori saw it as a symbol of strength and enduring power. It is now the national plant of New Zealand. Their beloved rugby team, the All Blacks, wear the fern on their uniform, as have their soldiers. If you ever want to be sure to find your way back from the wilderness at night, you can turn the fronds so the underside faces front. They will catch the moonlight and you will see your path back.
Because there were no mammals, there were no hides to turn into clothes. When the Maori first arrived from Polynesia, they discovered they could use the leaves of the flax plant to make clothes. They wove several strips of flax to make clothing.
After the bush walk, we drove to Piha Beach, a black sand beach. The sand is magnetic because it contains a variety of iron oxide called titanomagnetite. It was a beautiful beach with a large greenery-covered mound called Lion Rock. Although it can be climbed, it is challenging and can be dangerous.
Before leaving the beach, we had a snack of juice and biscuits drizzled with Manuka honey. Long before there was penicillin and other anti-biotics, doctors and other healers would use honey to fight infection. Manuka honey is so special because it has greater infection-fighting properties than any other honey. A kind of tea tree, the Manuka tree is unique to New Zealand. We saw a young Manuka tree on our bush walk.
After our snack, we watched the bees buzzing around the blossoms of the New Zealand Christmas tree, the Pohutukawa tree. There was a particularly large bee that we think may be the queen bee.
Flowers and a bird we saw:
Once back from our tour, we walked to Auckland’s maritime museum. We saw many interesting exhibits including ones on the Maori canoes, immigration to New Zealand, and yachts and the America’s Cup.
View from room before sail-away:
Amazing that there are no native mammals! Interesting and beautiful plants!