Wet West

 

Our ride south has brought us to the small town of Hokitika, home of odd collections, ancient eels and one of New Zealand’s most iconic art mediums, Pounamu.  The sock museum and teapot collection were added bonuses, but what made us decide to stop and stay was the presence of the National Kiwi Centre, where we could be nearly assured of a seeing a live kiwi, or so we thought.  For those who have not visited New Zealand, I will share with you that the kiwi bird is not only rare but grumpy, sleepy and shy.  This seems to be true for kiwis in enclosures as well.  After looking into a darkened enclosure for about half an hour and a return trip, neither of the kiwis decided to wake up, even when poked by a friendly staff member.  So instead, we consoled ourselves by feeding the giant eels, some of which were said to be 130 years old.  That one they called Grandma, she had a hunchback.

 If you think the eels were old though, we also saw dinosaurs.  Real dinosaurs.  New Zealand’s only indigenous reptile is the Tuatara, which has not evolved in 150 million years.  To show this is true, they have a third eye, which is more like a light sensor, but still, how many animals can say that?  Hokitika’s other main draw was the famous greenstone, known as Pounamu.  Pounamu is a green nephrite stone, a kind of Jade; 80% of which is found within a 20 kilometer radius from Hokitika.  While this town was once a massive port for gold mining, the history and importance of the greenstone for Maori has a much deeper history, making this part of the west coast a significant area for trade and art.  Being one of the hardest materials to which the Maori had access, the stone was of great value and the finest tools, weapons and art were made from it.  

These were extremely valuable for family life, ceremony and trade.  Gift giving is an integral part of many aspects of New Zealand’s native culture, especially so when visiting neighboring iwi (tribes).  Items that were rare to a region were especially important gifts, be they food or material, thus Pounamu would have flowed from the south island to the far parts of the country, facilitating friendships far from its home.  The variety of its coloring and beauty of its sheen also have led to its becoming an art medium closely linked to New Zealand’s national identity.  We were amazed at its presence here, as every other shop housed masterful carvings and massive boulders of unfinished greenstone.  We also came because we heard it was so plentiful, you could find it on the beach, and although not the highest quality of samples, we struck it green.