Last Place on Earth; Birds the Size of a House

New Zealand is a fairly isolated group of islands (with the North and South being the largest) 1,200 miles from Australia. Because of its isolation, many believe that this was one of the last places to be populated by humans. 

According to legend, the first human arrival came from Hawaiki or Hawaikiki in a canoe kind of like this one....

Boat typical of those in the 'Great Fleet'

....looked at the long white cloud cover of the land and called it Aotearoa (which means ‘long white cloud’).

Long White Cloud

Legend continues that a ‘great fleet’ of canoes brought many Polynesians about 1,000 years ago (give a take a hundred).   The story of the first human here and of the Great Fleet coming from Hawaiki has been part of oral tradition for as long as the Maori can remember.  Historical and anthropological studies support the later arrival date and reveal similarities between Maori and Polynesian cultures that back up the stories passed down over generations.

The first humans found NO land mammals on the islands.  None.   There were birds, there were insects,  and maybe some bats to eat the insects, some water mammals, but no land mammals.  I find that almost impossible to imagine.  No mammals at all?

Not only that, but we also  hear that before the Europeans arrived,  the North island was home to a giant flying eagle-like bird with a 29 foot wing span.  A bird that size would cover house and could pick up humans the way hawks pick up mice.  

There really isn't any evidence to corroborate that giant-flying-predator story (fortunately for the original settlers).  There were varying sizes of  *flightless* birds like the kiwi, and many called moa whose remains suggest they were related to emus and kiwi.  Some of the bones found indicate that a giant moa could stand 6 feet tall and weigh 500 pounds (yes, 500)--so we can see where the original giant-predator myth may have begun.  But this big bird couldn’t descend from the sky and grab me--I mean the Maori-- in its claws.

The considerably smaller national bird, the kiwi, is protected by law so it is not a food source. A funny little nocturnal guy, the kiwi has nostrils at the end of his beak.  When they dig in the sand for insects, kiwis often withdraw their beaks and sneeze. And in case you're wondering why the fruit and the bird bear the same name, just check the bird's body compared to the tasty fruit pictured below.

Kiwi--the bird * (above) and the fruit (below)

The Maori hunted the moa, using feathers and skin for clothing and meat for food, and bones for weapons and jewelry.  The sea was the other main source of sustenance. The Maori would smoke and/or dry sea food to assure an available supply when rough weather made fishing difficult.

Above you see a food storage hut (probably a little more elaborate in carving than the original huts) and drying racks for fish.  I remember seeing similar elevated food storage huts in Alaska, but there I knew the purpose was to keep food from conniving mammals.  Since there were no land mammals in NZ when the Maori arrived, I wonder if this type of storage is a holdover from the land that the first arrivals left behind?  Anyone have any ideas or information?

We end our day at Te Puia with a traditional ‘hangi’ feast.  The Maori dig a pit into which they place rocks which, when heated, cook the food.  Our dinner is accompanied by another traditional performance.  I'm no longer quite as frightened by the haka as I was this morning... but it's still impressively intimidating

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* (Now that you’ve seen the bird, I am willing to show you the carving that I made when I tried my hand at one of the Maori arts.....

 beginners carving  (it looks a little like a kiwi, doesn’t it?  

Next-- Hell’s Gate.