On Friday, March 6 me, Sarah, Cerea, and 5 friendly couch-surfers went on an adventure to Kiakoura after classes on Friday. It was about a two hour drive in a crowded 6 person van (yes, there were 8 of us and camping gear).
Once we arrived, there was only a few hours of sunlight left so we hiked up about an hour and found a lovely grassy area off of the path, set up camp, and watched the sun set and moon rise over the mountains.
The next morning we decided to hike down and go to the local beach to see the seals and rocky shores. Over the mountains, we could see the storm clouds rolling in.
We drove back to UC on long, winding roads. Once back, we had to hurry. The rental car was due in a few hours, the Australians had to catch a plane and two couchsurfers had nowhere to go. Sarah ended up finding a free campsite 40 minutes south for them. With ten minutes before they were about to leave, they asked if I would like to join them... so I did.
The campsite was interesting, it was a peninsula surrounded by a giant lake that feed off into the ocean. We set up camp under a pine tree, cooked up some couscous and hung out by the lake to watch the moon rise.
After a night of constant rain and wind, we pack up and hit the road. As we walked along the country roads, if felt a lot like the Midwest. We hitched back to Christchurch in the back of an nice, old man's pickup truck then took the bus back to my apartment. Once we ate, we headed out to the Haka.
The Kapa Haka was really cool. It has numerous components to it including action songs, poi dances, and the Hake (war dance). Making intense faces is also important during the haka. I think my favorite part of the few performances I saw was the war dance, it is very powerful.
(taken from https://golyweg.wordpress.com/2011/01/)
Here is a cool video: http://www.newzealand.com/int/feature/kapa-haka-maori-performance/
