North to South

Tory Channel

Hello from the South Island!

You may remember that the North Island is known as “the fish” because of its shape. The South Island is known as “the canoe” also because of its shape. The South Island is additionally referred to as “the land of the green stone waters”. Green stone (jade) jewelry is very popular in NZ and holds special meaning in Maori culture. Many amulets are carved for necklaces and each is worn for a special significance. It is said you never buy one for yourself – you must be given the one you wear. For more information on the meanings of the symbols, look at this site: http://boneart.co.nz/meanings.htm After spending three hours on the ferry crossing the Cook Strait, I can definitely understand the origin of this name for the South Island. I have never seen water such a deep green color.

The crossing wasn’t as rough or as cold as I expected it. Due to uncertainty about seasickness, I stayed on the top deck for the entire trip. The worst part was when we were in the clearing of the strait. While in the protection of the harbor or the channel the wind calmed down to make it bearable. In my opinion, the trip from the North Island to the South Island has the most beautiful scenery in the country. I couldn’t stop taking photos.

Our destination was Nelson where we will study the aquaculture (fisheries/hatcheries) tomorrow. Today however, we went to WOW – the World of Wearable Art museum. Now, you may be thinking wearable art means jewelry or a hairclip…maybe a hat. The pieces are head to toe ensembles that go well beyond a costume. The art often is not even made out of clothing materials and usually has symbolic meaning. For example, there was one piece that was made out of hanging dishes and was titled “China Doll”. There is truly no way to describe it – you need to see it for yourself. Go to http://www.wowcars.co.nz/ to see what it’s all about.

According to our tour guide George, many cities in New Zealand come up with something to set their city apart from others to attract tourism. We passed through a corrugated aluminum building town, one that is known for murals…Nelson is probably the most original of any!