Welcome to Day #6 of your journey and the last day in the south island. You are going to start the day by traveling 63 km north up State Highway 1 from Dunedin to a place called ‘Shag Point.’ Shag Point is one of five places in the south island where the Maori arrived hundreds of years ago to settle in New Zealand. They arrived at Shag Point in large canoes called ‘wakas.’ For more information on Shag Point and other Maori landing places, go to the Waka landing places website.
http://www.kiwidaydreaming.com/p/new-zealand-maps.html
Activity 1: Let’s imagine that you were on the first waka to arrive at Shag Point. You had never been to New Zealand before and you had no idea what to expect. Write a poem describing how you would have felt when you arrived in New Zealand. Would you have been excited or scared? I would have felt pretty nervous, I reckon…
"We have almost arrived!!" yells the Captain
Without hesitation, I rapidly leap out of my bed.
Running towards the front of the canoe, I could see the land.
All I wanted to do was take a dip
and swim to shore.
In frustration, I tell the Captain
"Quick, we are almost there!"
When we finally arrived, it was about noon. I took what huge step and was proud to say That I've finally found my home.
Activity 2: After visiting Shag Point, you hop back in the van and drive all the way up the east coast of the south island until you reach the town of Picton. You get out of the van and onto the Interislander ferry. It travels back across the Cook Strait to Wellington. Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand and every winter the city hosts a huge Matariki festival to celebrate the Maori New Year. This year part of the festival is being held at Te Papa, a big museum in Wellington.
Read about the Matariki festival at Te Papa. There are so many different things to see and do at the festival this year. On your blog, tell us about three of the events. You can choose any three events that you wish. You can choose any three events that you wish.
Bonus Activity: As part of the Matariki festival, there is a two day Kapa Haka competition. The haka is a traditional war dance that Maori performed before going into battle. The haka is now performed by children/adults in the community and by professional sporting teams, including our national rugby team, the ‘All Blacks.’ The All Blacks have performed various haka over the years. Watch the following three haka videos (1 – 3) and, on your blog, list the haka videos in order from best (#1) to worst (#3). There are no right or wrong answers ☺
At the end of your day at Te Papa, you head to your hotel in the centre of Wellington. You are staying on Cuba Street, one of the coolest streets in the city.
Hi Telesia,
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying reading your blog postings from my home in Canada. I'm very impressed that you're choosing to be involved in the blogging program during your school break. Good for you!
Your Matariki festival poster is beautiful. Well done! Did you get to see any of the fireworks yourself?
I like your poem about 'coming home' to New Zealand. People who arrived in your country by boat must have been astounded to find such a beautiful set of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean - they must have thought they had found a paradise!
I hope you'll continue to blog - I'll look forward to your next postings.
Leslie
Thank you Leslie! And yes, I got to see the fireworks.
DeleteTalofa Telesia,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your summary about Day 6 activities. I really enjoyed reading about your 3 events you selected from the Matariki festival. Have you ever been to the Matakariki festival before? I'm planning to take my daughter Shonny there one day. I would love to see the fireworks after reading how convincing you found it. I really hope you enjoyed learning about the Shag point> Your poem was a joyful pleasure to read.
Enjoy the rest of your Journey through New Zealand.
Best wishes,
Jacinta
Thanks so much Jacinta! I hope you get to take your daughter there someday!
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