I am Maori, English, Irish descent,
And our country is steeped in history,
Our main sports are rugby and cricket,
We take pride in all we can be.
New Zealanders do a dance called the "haka",
Traditionally before a rugby match,
It was originally a war dance to scare,
You should see, it's something to watch.
From North to South travelling New Zealand,
Can be a grand affair,
I lived there most of my young life,
And I would like to now take you there.
On arriving in our main city, Auckland,
You can visit the Sky Tower for spectacular views,
Of the harbour and surrounding volcanic hills,
Then have some kia (dinner) and a drink or two.
Journey south through the Waikato district,
And at Waitomo Caves see the Glow-worm Grotto,
For the afternoon, travel to hot springs, in Rotorua,
Then to a local store, for the lucky numbers on lotto.
If you play your cards right, a Maori guide for sure,
Will share the history, of the Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve,
And you can go on a beautiful scenic tour,
For a visit to Paradise Valley Springs, for a perv.
Travelling further south to Wairakei to Taupo,
In the heart of the North Island; mighty Huka Falls,
Before following the eastern shoreline of Lake Taupo,
Through the rich dairy farming lands of Manawatu,for a quick call.
To the coast and onto the capital city, Wellington,
Enjoy a tour to New Zealand's National Museum,
And then to an inter-island cruise across to Picton,
To the South Island of our fair New Zealand.
Travel along the rugged coast to Kaikoura,
Where whale watching can be spied,
On to my hometown of beautiful Christchurch,
Take a car, bus, or scenic train ride.
The colourful, patchwork plains of Canterbury,
Are really lovely to see, and visit beautiful Lake Tekapo,
Also view the Church of the Good Shepherd,
This part of the journey you should take real slow.
Continue past Mt Cook National Park,
Home to New Zealand’s highest mountain,
And if weather permitting, a scenic flight,
Over this awesome and mighty terrain.
Follow the Waitaki River, passing hydro-electric dams,
Travel through Oamaru, famous for its white stone buildings,
Continue south to Dunedin, founded by Scottish settlers,
And look forward to much more sightseeing.
Dunedin to Te Anau, to visit historic Larnach Castle,
Travel south through Balclutha, and the farming town of Gore,
Cross the rich fertile country of South Otago with no hassel,
And to continue from Te Anau, there is much more!
Travel south towards Fiordland, and through the Homer Tunnel,
Stop briefly at the Chasm before arriving at Milford Sound,
Enjoy a cruise on the waters of this natural wonder,
With Mitre Peak and Bowen Falls high above you, I found.
Continue to Queenstown where the skiing excels for sure,
Enjoy a visit to Arrowtown, steeped in local history,
Follow the course of the fast flowing Kawarau River,
Climb over Haast Pass, which winds through dramatic scenery.
Continue north along the coastal road to Fox Glacier,
And continue north along the rugged coast to Punakaiki,
To see the Pancake Rocks, blowholes, and Southern Alps,
Final destination being lovely Christchurch City.
I hope and pray you enjoyed your stay in Aotearoa,
"The Land of the Long White Cloud",
For in our Maori language, as we say "kia ora",
It is a country of which we are proud.
-Petratani-
05/13/07
Author notes
Rob, this was written for you in mind, New Zealand is a beautiful place and it would cheer you up no end. Kia ora mate!!!
A contest entry
- Contest: Write Something Wonderful for Rob - Closes May 14th by Night Hope.
600 points, ended May 14, 2007, 4 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - "MEMBERS OF HUGH WYLES FAVOURITES GROUP ONLY" No. 12 by huguenauties.
750 points, ended May 30, 2007, 19 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 27 of 27
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Your words make me want to visit New Zealand. Beside that, my dear sister Joan (angelica) lives there. This poem is historic and enchanting, filled with lots of exciting things to do and see. Excellent! I wish you well in this challenge.
Much Love ♥
Renee
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Thank you for taking the time to enter. We appreciate your talents. Best of luck to you
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I would love to come to New Zealand some day and visit all of these places that you have mentioned, especially Queenstown, so I could go skiing! It sounds absolutely amazing. Great write and good luck!
Elisa, CB & YOKEGG -
What a great description of our homeland - so many places I have seen during our travels in our camperbus. Well done.
Cheers
Anne
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I am pleased to have included so many great places and wish I could have included more. You sound like a great traveller. Your comment is most welcome. Thank you.
Arohanui,
Petratani
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Oh, this is just like having a grand tour of New Zealand!
The more I've read about and seen pictures of the country, the more it makes me want to visit someday. You've put so much work into this poem and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. Good luck in the contest!
Best wishes,
~J.
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Dear Petratani,
What a lovely tour of New Zealand you have shown the rest of our group. There are so many wonderful places to see, The North Island sounds fantastic. Heath and I plan on a trip to the North Island one day.I have only been to the South Island where I live now with Heathcote, not too far from Hugh and Edna. I love living in New Zealand, I do miss my two children but we keep in touch and they have their own lives now, we will visit them in Australia in July.
A wonderful poem Petra that I enjoyed reading very much.
Hine.
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This is a wonderful outline of your favorite place, and I would love to see it for myself some time. Well written, though perhaps there were some words I did not understand - my fault! Best of luck!
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dear Petra,
What a lovely tour of New Zealand you took me on. Joan has told me so much about it also, one day I'll have to visit yur beautiful country.
Beautifully written my dear friend.
Jen.
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Dear Jenelda
Thank you for your wonderful comment. New Zealand certainly is lovely. I miss my homeland and look forward to returning for a visit soon. Take care and God bless.
Hugs and love,
Petra xo
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i had a nanna in NZ she was beautiful. my step dad had a kiwi Accent but no where as intense or strong as hers. i used to love it when she told us stories about nz. the very first gift she gave me was a maori doll. she now lives in my china cabinet. one day when my kids are a little older i would love to go to nz and get her a friend lol.
beautifully written. a real pleasure to read.
good luck with your entry.
Til
P.S. sorry about my babbling lol
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I have always wanted to visit New Zealand... it has been a draw to me and almost went in 1990's with a Native Dance and Peace Troupe. I ended up in Columbia, South America instead but there has always been a little niggle at the back of my mind that there is something there to meet.
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You should be a travel guide!
I enjoyed my stay in Aotearoa very much!
You've written a wonderful poem describing your home land, New Zealand. It sounds like a beautiful place to visit...I only wish I could!
Best of Luck in the contest!
Love and hugs,
Maureen
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Dear Maureen
Thank you for your beautiful comment. I love my country so very much and miss it too. It is a beautiful place to visit and it will always be my "home" away from home. I appreciate your good wishes.
Kia ora e arohanui,
Petratani
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Dear Petra
What a wonderful poem describing your beautiful New Zealand. Having been to the South Island I can vouch for the beauty of it.I love visiting there and I'm taking my Daughter Sharon with me next February to show her the beauty of the South Island. My Daughter and I want to see the Haka done while we're there and go to a Hungi(is that what you call the feast?) So I'll make enquiries about one. It'll also be great to see Hugh and Edna again too.
Fantastic poem my dear friend.
Love Joan
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Dear Joan
Yes, New Zealand certainly is a place to see and your daughter will enjoy it immensely - especially the South Island. I left out the joys of a hungi, the excitement of a haka, visiting a marae (Maori meeting house) and the Maori people there, and many other wonders. Seeing Hugh and Edna will be a highlight too. Please have a wonderful time.
Kia ora e arohanui tonu,
Petratani
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Dear Petratani,
This is indeed a great whirlwind tour of "Godzone" from arrival in Auckland and the Thermal wonders of tjhe central North Island to the great Southern Alps and Lakes, the rugged and magnificent South Island West Coast and final departure from Christchurch.
I would perhaps have wished you to include an extra stanza on Christchurch, the "Garden City", mentioning the stamp which early British settlers left in magnificent Gothic stone buildings and the abundance of trees and parks which give this most English city it's greeen beauty. We always take visitors up the gondola to the summit of the Port Hills from which one can view the breathtaking beauty of the immense sea-filled extinct volcanic crater with its islands and bays and, of course we never fail to visit Banks Peninsula and the French settlement of Akaroa with its beautiful French cottages and tree-lined Rues or its fishing wharf where one can swim with the dolphins!
I also miss mention of the rugged beauty of Stewart Island where warm tropical currents provide wonderful diving and snorkelling views of tropic fishes.
But your poem is a splendid attempt to describe our amazing little three-island country with its tremendous variety of scenic wonders and I realise that, in the confines of a poem, you could not go on and on about it as I do!!
A wonderful choice for this contest, Petra, thankyou for writing and sharing it. Well done!
Best of luck in the contest voting.
Kia ora e arohanui, XXX Hugh R.
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Dear Hugh
I think I should write a poem on Christchuch alone, it has enough beauty all on its own. Thank you for your most inspiring comment and I appreciate all you have said my King.
Hugs and love,
Petratani xxxooo
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revealing
you reveal so much of your country and yourself in this poem .well written super -
Love it
I've long wanted to visit. I loved the tour, being very visual for me! I want to fish for trout and see the mountains before it gets over-populated like it is here. Thanks for a great journey.
Peace, Rob
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Trout fishing is wonderful in New Zealand. My father is a native of New Zealand (maori) and fished all his life, to this day. It certainly isn't over-populated in New Zealand. There are about 4,180,000 people approximately in the country and as you can see in my previous comment, 90 million sheep!!! As for the trout, I can't account for them but I think there are quite a few left for you to fish for! Have fun when you go.
Kia ora,
Petratani
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nicely written, totally the way to get a reader to feel like they are in your country, I guess the only advice I can give is that colour and smell could be included to really take someone there. well done. lexy xx
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I really did try to describe New Zealand as I see it but I can see where I should have put more colour into it and as for smells, well, with 90 million sheep, you can guess LOL!!!
Peace and love,
Petratani
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Awesome write!Spot on!
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Thank you
Great to hear from you, appreciate your comment Honey. Take care.
Peace and love,
Petratani
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This is a very well~written & educational poem. Thank you for entering the contest. Be well, Poet. Wanda
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Dear Night Hope
Well I laughed at that one because I painstakingly took my time writing this with Rob in mind and may have lost the gist of the matter. However, I had so much fun I am just glad to have written it and that I have had the opportunity to enter the competition. Hopefully, Rob will read it and won't stop half way through from pure boredom LOL. Thank you for your wonderful comment, I do appreciate it sincerely. I'm still laughing!
Much aroha,
Petratani
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