Page 46 - Damianos Sotheby's International Realty Magazine Vol. 3

PASSPORT NEW ZEALAND
It was still light when Bill Matthews, looking more like a sheep rancher than a Maori sage and storyteller in his black oilskin duster and work boots, picked me up at the Copthorne Hokianga Hotel on New Zealand’s northwest coast.
By the time he stopped the SUV at a dizzying height above Hokianga Har- bour, the sun was beginning to slide into the sea. Matthews killed the engine, we got out and he swept his arm to encompass the platinum mirror of the bay below.
“A thousand years ago, the great chief of the mythical land of Hawaiki set out in pursuit of a giant wheke, or octopus...” he began. The chief, Kupe, eventu- ally vanquished the octopus and discovered a new land called Aotearoa, “land of long white cloud.” He departed from the very bay below but vowed to return, which he did. His descendants, the Maori, have populated Aotearoa ever since.
In the liquid subtropical twilight, it wasn’t hard to imagine the carved red waka (canoes) drifting to the beaches below, their wide-eyed passengers overwhelmed by the wild lushness of their new home. But this lookout wasn’t our destination, and the story of the coming of the Maori to New Zealand was just a prologue.
At the verge of the fabled Waipoua Forest, a primeval rainforest and sanctuary for the vast native Kauri trees, the last light filtered through the silver ferns, sym- bol of New Zealand and as big as rooftops. After cleaning our shoes to prevent in- troducing any plant diseases, we ducked into the underbrush. Matthews, walking several feet ahead of me, began a low chanting prayer to greet the ancient gods.
It’s not surprising, really, that the misty ranges, bubbling hot springs and vast forests that were such inherently sacred sites for the Maori have, in more recent years, inspired and attracted pilgrims of all spiritual stripes.
Lonely Planet’s guide to “experiences of a lifetime”—Lonely Planet Code Green—includes Footprints Waipoua, for which Matthews acts as guide, as one of its 82 most life-changing experiences in the world.
Before we met Te Matua Ngahere, Father of the Forest, Matthews asked me to stop while he chanted a blessing. As if summoned, a light rain began, silencing the cries of the kiwi and tui birds that had been keeping us company.
SACRED TATTOOS
There’s probably nothing more authen- tic than a Maori-inspired ta oo, which historians believe European sailors
to the South Pacific brought back to the western world in the 16th century. Rather than using needles, the ancient adornment cra of Ta moko was done with chisels made of albatross bone; the symmetrical design was carved
into the body, then filled with coloured dyes. Outlawed until the late 20th cen- tury, Ta moko is now enjoying a resur- gence, although it is considered sacred to the Maori and it’s disrespectful for non-Maori to get one.
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Photos: (bo om le ) Venture Southland (top middle) Destination Rotorua (right) John Roberts