Haere Mai, gentle readers.

New Zealand was wonderful.

Totally different from anywhere I have been before, with a natural beauty that inspired me.

I made my sage retreat trip down a gorge at Taupo, and ended up with badly scratched legs physically. A black peg and pumice apparently now have spiritual import for me. I chanted, wept, prayed and sang and when I opened my eyes much later, a huge geyser went off about 20 meters along the gorge floor. Interestingly two days later, much further north, a Maori confirmed the spiritual significance of pumice for the Taupo region.

However NZ was not just solitary spiritual time: I enjoyed the Polynesian Spa, a flight across the great fault line in a Cessna, a day cruise on on the Bay of Islands, and saw over 120 dolphins. Visits to cultural and historical museums, and lots of wonderful meals. Visits to falls and geothermal sites also were eye openers. Made other tourists days by practicing RAOK.

Life and Death is understood well by the Maori, I appreciate now even more my own life.