kiwi

This blogging activity was very fun. I learned a lot about my home country New Zealand also known as ‘Aotaroa’, which means the land of the long white cloud. I really enjoyed doing this activity and had never done a blog in my life so it was very different. I think the purpose of this activity was to learn something new while having fun and how to learn how to post a blog and add pictures, videos and friends etc. Also to be safe around the internet by not using your real name and stuff and to do something different.

I have accomplished heaps during this blogging activity such as learning how to write a blog and add pictures and videos to it to make it more attractive. I have also accomplished lots of new knowledge about New Zealand like Mt Tarawera, The Pink and White Terraces, how to make a hangi and lots lots more.

I have learned how to take information and write it into my own words. I have also learned heaps about blogging such as taking the URL from a picture and/or video then adding it to your post. I had fun learning how to change the design of my page as well.

Me already knowing how to write a blog will benefit me in the future if I need to write a blog for school or work. Also it can benefit me so I can show my friends back home what I am doing in school and here in Doha by letting them see some pictures, videos and some writing I have done.

Mount Tarawera is a Volcano. It is located in the North Island of New Zealand, 24.1 Kilometres Southeast of Rotorua. Its only ever eruption was on June 10th 1886 and killed around about 120 hundred people. The summit is at 1111 metres. It has 3 peaks which are called Ruawahiaa Peak, Tarawera Peak and Wahanga Peak. There are many lakes surrounding Mount Tarawera and most of them were created or majourly altered in the eruption, in 1886.

In the morning of June 10 1886, not long after midnight, more than 30 strong earthquakes were felt in the area of Rotorua and a strange lightning appearence was seen from the bearings of Tarawera. Around 2:00 am a bigger earthquake was felt then afterwards there was the sound of an explosion. Mt Tarawera’s three peaks had erupted by 2:30 am and had blasted into the sky 3 clear lines of smoke with ash thousands of metres high.

The Pink and White Terraces were utterly destroyed and many maori villages got buried at the largest phase of the eruption which was around 3:30 am. As far away as Blenheim you could hear the erupton clearly and as far as 800 km south toward Christchurch which is located in the south Island, you could clearly see the effects including the ash in the air. The sound of the eruption and the flashing in the sky was thought to be an attack by Russian warships in Auckland.

The phantom canoe is a widespread legend from the 1886 eruption. A boat full of tourists returning from the terraces 11 days before the eruption saw what looked like or was meant to be a war canoe. The war canoe approached their boat, but disappeared only half a mile from them into the mist. Around the lake nobody owned such a war canoe, for many many years nothing like it had been seen on the lake. Skeptics kept supporting that it was a freak reflection seen on the mist, Te Wairoa tribal elders claimed that is was a waka wairua or spirit canoe and was a sign or warning of doom. Locals believe that a reappearance of the canoe is a signal that a future eruption will happen but it has been suggested that the waka was actually a freak wave on the water caused by seismic activity below the lake.

The Pink and White terraces of New Zealand were the ‘eighth wonder of the natural world’ and were New Zealand’s most famous tourist attraction until they were destroyed by Mount Tarawera’s violent eruption in 1886. 

The Pink Terraces:

The White Terraces:

The Pink and White Terraces were geothermally heated water which contained siliceous sinter which spouted regularly from two geysers beside lake Rotomahana. The water gushed down a hill slope and left thick pink and white silica layer that formed terraces keeping in pools of water. The bigger, more beautiful formation which covered 3 hectares and descending 30 metres were the White Terraces. The Pink Terraces were where people went to bathe.

Rotorua is a city in the Bay of Plenty which is located in the North Island of New Zealand. Rotorua is 80 kilometres north of Taupo. Rotorua is very famous for its geothermal activity, adventure tourism, cultural heritage and its many geysers. Especially the Pohutu geyser which is found at Whakarewarewa, the hot mud pools are also found at that location. Rotorua is disliked for its terrible smell of rotten eggs.

The name Rotorua comes from the language and culture Maori, the full name being Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe; roto meaning ‘lake’ and rua’ meaning two, so Rotorua meaning ‘Second lake’. Rotorua was the second major lake the chief discovered and the chief’s name was Ihenga, he dedicated the lake to his uncle, Kahumatamomoe. Ihenga was the ancestral explorer of the Te Arawa. Its the biggest of a multitund found to the northeast of the city, which are all connected with the Rotorua Caldera and nearby Mount Tarawera. The equally appropriate ‘crater lake’ can also mean the name Rotorua. Thermal appeal is the most loved tourist appeal in Rotorua. Geysers, bubbling mud pools, hot thermal springs are all in simple contact of the city. The buried village also known as Te Wairoa was named after the 1886 MT Tarawera eruption.

Sulphur City is Rotorua’s nickname because of the aforementioned thermal activity. The sulphur gives of an odor unique to Rotorua that adds to the visitor experience.

Rotorua geyser videos:

watch?v=ie-CzQHWqCk&feature=related

watch?v=Rw2Yf52Y5zQ

Taupo is a city on the lakeshore of Lake Taupo. Taupo is in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand.  Lake Taupo is one of the largest lakes in New Zealand. In the north east corner of Lake Taupo it release’s the Waikato River. The Waikato River flows over the Huka Falls which is one of New Zealand’s most spectacular waterfalls and is in short distance of the city. 

Taupo is a very good place for tourists to go because of the many things to do there, especially in the summer because of the grand views over the lake. There are many fun things to do with the family there such as skydiving, jet boating, paragliding going to the Huka falls and to Mt Ruapehu which was always one of my favourites.

Mt Ruapehu is a stratovolcano and one of the worlds most active volcanoes and is the largest in New Zealand. Mt Ruapehu is the highest point in the North Island. Andesite is what Mt Ruapehu is largely composed of and began erupting about 250,000 ago. History records say that major eruptions are 50 years apart, in 1895, 1945, 1995-1996. 60 minor eruptions have been since 1945 and are more frequent. Between major eruptions a warm acidic crater lake forms which is supplied by melting snow. 

I am going to be explaning what the hangi is and how to make one. The hangi is a method of cooking food buried under the ground in a dug out pit oven. The hangi is a very special and a traditional way of cooking food for maori people, especially since they were the people who invented it.The hangi is still used today but is more modern than it used to be. You wouldn’t use the Hangi daily, most people wait until special ocasions because of the long ours it takes to prepare and all the work it takes.

The hangi is quite amazing since you use very hot rocks and steam to cook your food. You first need to dig a pit in the ground then collect some rocks. The best types of rocks to use are volcanic rocks since the are lighter and heat much faster. To heat the rocks you need to place them in a stack of flaming wood. You can use any type of vegetables and meat. When the rocks are hot enough you need to cautiously lift them into the pit you dug in the ground earlier on the put some wire baskets with food in them put on top. You can have any type of meat of vegetable in the baskets you want cooked for your special dinner. You now need to cover the baskets with wet sheets and they should be covered with wet sacks and they should get covered with dirt. How does the food get the lovely taste and aroma you should be wondering by know?, well the steam that the water turns into will give it that. The vapor then will get heated by the hot rocks heat, the vapor can not escape by this point so with the steam becoming hotter and hotter it slowly cooks the food. From start to finish it takes a hangi several hours to cook, the long time is worth it though because the food is delectable!

The maori using the hangi as a cooking methods for hundreds of years and have found that the finest wood to use is wood like manuka or tea tree because of the process it burns in and the lovely vapor and taste it gives he food. Regarding the baskets, the meat should be placed in the first one and the vegetables can be placed in the top one. You can use meat such as shell fish, fish, chicken, lamb, beef, and pork, and use vegetables like corn, pumpkin, kumara and potatoes. 

Today people use various methods for a hangi. The use of wire baskets became known in the early 19th century, using sacks and cloth instead of leaves and bark to cover it with. A long established sizzling open basket hangi releases precisely how the food keeps its unique flavour the many kiwis have come to love.

One of my favourite places to go for holidays in NZ is Pauanui.

Which is great, it’s only about 1 and a half hours away from where I live. Pauanui is great as it has about 10-25 shops including a supermarket,bakery,restaurants,and the famous ice-cream shop. Pauanui is very well known for the skate park, beach, jet-skiing and fishing. The last time I went there was in the summer holidays in January 2008. We stayed at our friends batch. They have a boat and our other friends own a jet-ski. For a Day we went over on the jet ski and boat to Slipper Island!

It was so fun. We Went biscuiting and played around, it was marvelous! The lagoon is also a famous place to go bisuiting and jet-skiing! NZ isn’t only a great place to go to beaches and have great holidays, it’s also very well known for it’s smashing forest’s and nature. Auckland, NZ is a beautiful place! NZ is lovely and green with lots of wildlife, grass and tree’s. Its heaps of fun playing around while you go on bush walks which is a very common thing to do. My favourite place to go for a bush walk in the bush is in Auckland, Manurewa, Totara Park.

Parks and beaches aren’t the only great places to go in New Zealand. Taupo, Queenstown and Christchurch are fun to go to their lovely snowy mountains. You can ski, snowboard and just play in the snow!:)

Going to the Auckland Sky Tower and bungee jumping of it is really popular to do.

Also going to the Wellington beehive and walking across the Auckland Harbour bridge as well.

You have probably guessed by now what my blog is about. My blog is going to be about New Zealand, New Zealand Culture and different places there.