With Rotorua, and – I felt – the rest of New Zealand behind me, I made my way up to Auckland by coach. We watched ‘Whale Rider’ during the journey, which is basically about a Maori girl and her relationship with the local Maori elder, also her grandfather.
Maori culture’s phenomenal; I’d spent that day visiting Whakarewarewa, where I’d seen a dance/song/haka display, and then I’d made my way to the Rotorua Museum, which is brilliant and I recommend it. I learnt all about the 28th Maori battalion that fought during WWII, it’s fascinating stuff…
http://www.28maoribattalion.org.nz/story-of-the-28th/about-the-28th
Back in Auckland, I stopped the night with the same relative who had picked me up back in December.
Where was I now? Older? Wiser? My suitcase was heavier, that was certain.
