Aotearoa – The Land of the Long White Cloud

The Maori word for New Zealand is Aotearoa. It means “the land of the long white cloud” and that is exactly what I experienced. Even on a sunny day on the beach, the clouds were ever-present.

This is the famous Piha beach, on the west coast of the North Island, famous for surfing, In fact, this day there was a national surf competition.

I visited in their summer, and the weather is volatile because it is such a small land mass surrounded by oceans, including the Pacific and the South Sea.

But it is also Middle Earth from Lord of the Rings – lush, green, with farming and sheep and cattle ranching.

 From the air:

I started out in Castle Hill, in the center of the South Island. I attended an Ishaya meditation retreat there. We also visited the famous Castle Hill formations.

And this is known as “The Birthplace of the Gods.”

The center of the South Island has mountains called the Alps. Notice the clouds. Those clouds made for a spectacular sunrise.

Those clouds often brought rain, which mostly was accompanied with wind. Whew! Dunedin, on the east coast of the South Island, was settled by lots of Scotts, and you can see why here.

And here is Kaikoura beach, on the east coast of the South Island, but further north.

We rode the ferry that runs between the islands. It sure was windy!

And rainy when we got to Wellington. So, it was a good day to visit the museum, Te Papa. On the way, we saw the theater where all the Lord of the Rings movies premiered in Wellington. It looks like they have a permanent tribute outside the theater.

If you would like to visit New Zealand, or have visited there, please comment in the section below.

Kia Ora!

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