The city of Tauranga is in an inlet called the Bay of Plenty by Captain Cook, who got it right. This area grows much of New Zealand's produce, especially kiwi fruit. Unfortunately, the bay is currently recovering from disease/virus/algae that mean the seafood and shellfish from the bay are not safe to eat. Seafood from restaurants or major suppliers is all right, but people are warned not to eat seafood caught in the bay in case it is still poisonous. The main physical feature of the area is the extinct volcano Mt. Manganui, which overlooks (and gives its name to) the small harbor town where we docked.

Today we took a tour titled Maori Marae Visit; as advertised, it was an encounter with Maori customs . We first went to a community center where a group from the marae entertained us with demonstrations of typical Maori dances and games, and explained some of their customs. Our guide was a woman from the marae we were about to visit, and she explained the rituals for people entering the marae (both foreigners like us and members of the marae follow the rituals when coming or returning to the marae). First, a member (male) of our group is selected to be our chief. When we get to the marae, the women are arranged in front (behind our chief), with the men behind to protect us. A challenger from the marae will come out and perform the challenge (a haka dance with attitude), then place a gift on the ground. If our chief picks it up, it signifies that our group comes in peace, and we will be allowed to enter the marae. At this point the order changes: men in front, women behind.

A representative of the marae then performs a brief (for Maori) speech of greeting in Maori. Maori greetings include an explanation of the genealogy and history of the greeter in addition to greetings and elaborate wishes for the person being greeted . Maori people know their genealogy back to which canoe(s) brought their ancestors to the island; it is the mainspring of their identity (the main building of the marae we went to had the names of the three canoes that brought their ancestors carved into its front). The canoe defines the tribe; the subtribe is defined by the area in which the ancestors settled, and the third level of a Maori’s identity is the town or village in which the person lives. Maori do not have tattoos – they have tamoku (tribal markings) that represent their genealogy and identity. (The process of creating these tamoku is the same as for tattoos, however.)

First the elder greets the visitors (us) in Maori; translations were promised, but never actually delivered, so I am not sure what he said, but it seemed to be the complete history of the place. He then introduced another person who gave another speech in Maori, which he promised would be brief (and was – it only took 5 minutes). We then sang a song of greeting that our guides had taught us on the buses coming to the marae, and the head woman gave a song and speech of greeting . After that, the speeches switched to English, and they explained the marae, who belongs to it and who lives there, what the various buildings and gardens were, pointed out objects of interest, and invited us to look around. It was a very interesting place; inside the main building were many elaborately woven cloths hung on the walls. We were told that the patterns had meanings, but they were beautiful even if you have no idea what they mean. Refreshments were served in the community dining hall, and there were displays of crafts and textiles to view and even purchase.

After leaving the marae, we went to a high lookout tower for a vantage point on that part of the island. Our guide told a traditional story about three mountains who were together in the early times. One mountain had no name, but he was in love with the mountain next to him. One day she noticed him and asked his name, and he replied that he had no name. Then he saw from the way she looked at him that she would never love him, and he was very sad . He asked the Little People (like fairies) to take him away and push him into the bay so he would drown because he wanted to die. So the Little People got to work and began dragging him toward the bay. But they only worked at night, and when the dawn came, they had only dragged him to the water’s edge, so there he stayed, and there he is today. We could certainly see that there are now only two mountains where the story said there were once three, and we could see another mountain down by the bay. The guide swore she could point out the tracks where the mountain was dragged, and she did, but I never saw anything that looked like what she claimed, so I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the tale.

After the tour returned, I went into the town to look around, mail postcards, and buy a paper for David. I kept running into people from the ship doing similar things. While I was walking around, I found a little park with a stream and lily pond, and enjoyed a bit of a stroll around it.