This morning we leave for Hokitika to see the art of jade greenstone carving, where the town itself is home to New Zealand’s finest Pounamu (Māori language) or Jade.
In Māori culture, jade is considered a taonga, or treasure, and therefore protected under the Treaty of Waitangi. The exploitation of it is restricted and closely monitored. As Jade is only found in the South Island of New Zealand, the South Island is known as Te Wai Pounamu in Māori — "The [land of] Greenstone Water", or Te Wahi Pounamu — "The Place of Greenstone". There are several Jade factories and stores in Hokitika itself and we visited one of the largest in town.
Tools, weapons and ornaments are also made from Jade, in particular, adzes, the 'mere' (short club), and the Hei-tiki (neck pendant). These were believed to have their own mana, handed down as valuable heirlooms, and often given as gifts to seal important agreements.
Driving along State Highway 1 on the way back to Christchurch, several particularly twisting sections of the highway have been rebuilt to remove sharp bends and to generally improve road conditions. We had a quick stop at a lookout known as Death’s Corner to have a glimpse of the engineering feat of improved roadways.
We then had a quick lunch stop at Arthurs Pass Store, where we get to see a Kea.
The Kea (Nestor notabilis) is a species of parrot (family Nestoridae) found in forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. It is also one of the few alpine parrots in the world.
Kea are legendary for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment. Studies have shown Kea to be able to solve logical puzzles, such as pushing and pulling things in a certain order to get to food, as well as working in teams to achieve a certain objective.
We then continue to cross the Southern Alps via the majestic Arthurs Pass.
Similar to the Haast Pass, we were treated with views of snow-capped mountains …
… mountain ranges …
… lakes …
… and rock formations.
Finally, we arrived back at the "Cathedral City" of Christchurch. Since we did not explore Christchurch during our first day, we had a short walk around the CBD.
Along our stroll, we also came across some interesting road signs.
Since most of the group is leaving the tour in Christchurch, we had our farewell dinner at Mums 24, a Korean Japanese fusion restaurant that claim to make amazing things with rice.
Farewell dinner in Christchurch
After dinner, we took another short stroll along the Avon …
… as well as a farewell group photo at the Bridge of Remembrance.
Group photo at the Bridge of Remembrance
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