Árdís - 01.01.1958, Side 41

Ársrit Bandalags lúterskra kvenna
39
of New Zealand, year round temperatures range from 10 degrees
to 88 degrees. Snow is practically unknown in the towns of the
North Island and is not common on the South Island. Rain is more
common in New Zealand than it is here and many areas have from
80 to 100 inches of rainfall a year. However, the earth seems cap-
able of absorbing all the rain it receives. After a 5-inch rain on
the Hobsonville Air Station where Bella and Ivan live there was
not a puddle to be seen.
I arrived in Auckland on December 10, 1957, almost at the
height of the summer season. Labour Day, which fell at the end of
October is the usal signal for summer to begin, although the event
officially takes place December 21. Bella and Ivan had planned a
Christmas holiday trip (comparing with our summer vacation)
with their three older children and this afforded me the oppor-
tunity of seeing a great deal of the countryside soon after my
arrival in New Zealand. We left on our trip on December 19 with
our “caravan” (house trailer) pulled behind the car with Rotorua
as our destination. Rotorua is one of New Zealand’s prime tourist
attractions. It is a thermal region, similar to Yellowstone National
Park, but the extent of the thermal area is much greater. The town
of Rotorua has over 12,000 inhabitants, a large percentage of these
are members of the Maori people. Rotorua then is the best place
to see the Maori people not only as they are but in the costumes
of long ago — as their ancestors were. There is a great model “pa”
or village where you can see exactly the sort of habitations they
used to live in before the “pakeha” or white man came to New
Zealand. New Zealand has retained many of the original Maori
names and nameplaces and such names as Karangahape Road, and
Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, Mt. Rangitoto, visible from the
Auckland area, Ohinemutu, a town in the Rotorua region, Te
Wairoa, a buried village also in the Rotorua region, are perhaps
better written than pronounced by the visitors. There are many
interesting sights in this thermal region. Taniwha Springs has 16
crystal clear springs and some beautiful trout pools. Te Wairoa
as mentioned before, is a Buried Village unearthed after the mas-
sive eruption of Tarawera seventy years ago. It is interesting to
note that all of the North Island was once volcanic. The most im-
pressive remnant of the volcanic period is a line of three high
peaks, two of which continue active, awakening enough every few