Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Annual Westcoast Trip - pounamu carving

Wednesday, June 4, 2014 0
oldbearnews editor


 Ah yes - the last few images to be shown.  All day Thursday night it felt strange - for once I did not have to go shopping for food.  This was done by two other leaders (Squeek and Mr Schick) and they did do a very good job too.  The local scout hall is usually so cold (June - winter here and no insulation) that there is no need to take stuff home for chilling or even freezing!!  So came Thursday night - I was at sixes and sevens, not sure if I was coming or going!  In any-case - this was not the only trolley as I understand it.













Back to the grind-stone.  The paper is diamond tipped - so the grinding / shaping is relatively easy!

















At this point I was  on dry sanding.  You start with a 400 grit - then 600 / 800 / 1000 and 2000 grit. One needs to be careful as the stone can get quit warm / hot even.  I must admit wet-sanding sounded much better.  It also would have helped to be less proud and taken with me my reading glasses . . . . . Hmmmmmm  now I do feel old!!













Decided to toss in the street front view of the carving place.  You can't miss it . . . .











So in between carving and working and gas-bagging - ooops story telling - and learning all matters greenstone, I found this piece. 
Some haggling resulted.  I so wanted this piece, as the grain in the Jade reminded me of the nor-west arch / cloud formation often seen in Canterbury.  After some furious haggle - a price was agreed upon and I became the proud owner of NZ Pounamu - just need to polish this up and then mount on a suitable piece of Rimu or driftwood or . . . .     (found a piece of timber on the beach the next day - yessss)   







Often you get / find some stone and you will not know what is inside, until you either polish away from the outside - or cut into it!!  This particular piece was on the shop floor and for me it  was VERY tempting to slice of a piece.  I love the moonshine effect from the grain on this!!  Alas I already spent some cash so - maybe next time - yeah - next time


 No west-coast camp is complete until you do a campfire on the beach (below the high tide mark - so the tide washes away any remnants of the fire).  The other tradition is to try and light the timber that has been laying on the beach - and is always totally  RAIN-soaked - to the point were one needs a lot of, either, magic water or a gas burner in the middle of the timber structure to be burned - before the timber properly catches fire.   Honestly next time I will bring some kiln dried timber from Christchurch  ^^


 A often missed attraction - the Glow-worm Dell.  It is no-where as great as either the one at Te Anau or Waitomo caves - but it is still pretty impressive. You need to walk in quietly and have no lights on with you (so cellphones and torches off!!)  a n d  - watch out for the Hokitika Groper :D   or at least watch out that you snuggle up to your own wife - a mistake some men have made frequently in there, then are surprised with the reaction  they get . . . . .


We stopped at two places on the way back - this is at the Viaduct where the local kea resident population has great delight in entertaining the visitors.  You do need to be careful what you leave laying round - or indeed in or on your car - as anything remotley loose is fair game for this Alpine clown!! They have a way of dismantling anything,  that has to be seen to be believed!  Indeed one unfortunate tourist once  lost his car keys  over the side of a steep cliff/hillside . . . . . .



Have fun

 bear print

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Annual Westcoast trip - Pounamu

Tuesday, June 3, 2014 0
oldbearnews editorEvery year we go with scouts to the beautiful west-coast of New Zealand and do a camp based on one particular activity.
This year we went to Hokitika and did some decent carving of the local, special and VERY precious resource called Pounamu  (also called Maori green gold - or more colloquial Greenstone/jade).

On previous camps I left on my Laptop a word file open, for everyone to be able to write in their thoughts etc during camp - on one condition - that they leave everything written and do not delete anything.  They are usually very good and leave good honest feedback.  I then go and post said word file on my blog.  Tomorrow I will flesh out the words with pictures.  For today - the Blog - as written by the youth and adults - see below.


Friday

We arrived!!!!

Camp is set up = now we need some pizza for a late snack

Loving the set up, and the warm felling that Hokitika gives.

I left my slippers at home because my mum didn’t pack them!

^ lol

Rumour has it that brush snores – yeah right “)

Can’t wait for tomorrow morning and all the people reaction to the early wake up call.

Evening slumber music loaded and ready to go to send the wee sweeties to sleep





Saturday


= yawwwwn = who set the alarm and played THAT music????

Wake up call was harsh :-{ )

Think the patrols should have been organised differently

Mhmm, smell that coal burning

^^ Na, the patrols are good.

^^Ahhh, the sweet music to my ears in the morning. – Starting to get used to it after 2 West Coast camps!!!

Nice trip to try find some greenstone it was a shame no one found any still got a lot of rocks to take home

Fantastic stone carving today, really enjoyed, looking forward to finishing it tomorrow/

Greenstone carving for Da vinci Group was fantastic

Wow, that walk, outstanding, just a nice calm beautiful walk between trees of nature.!!

Making the greenstone necklaces is
A
M
A
Z
I
N
G
!!!

The walk was great

Leaving on a walk with papabear

Been and came back then back to the beach for some sunset pics – not much sun but nice red hills behind us!!

Me bored : - [

Ahhh, have to prepare the salad now!! ^_^
Waiting is boring 
Oohhhhhhhhh  mushrooms !! yummm!!   Brush is in heaven

Shot for dinner lads
Fooooood was good

NOOOOOO!!! Where’s my balaclava gone!!!!! Who took it?

Me felt like it

Time to read

My speed at the beach       snail pace mode with some glue on it’s slime!!!!






Sunday

Yawnnn – another early morning wake-up-call – and the little man in white coats are taking me away!!!!

I hate that wake up call !!!!!!

I love the wake up call!!!!!

Hmmmmm, where are the snacks today for Michael Angelo?!!!

Shotgun!!

No baked beans  but pi can solve this     I think?????

Oohhhh, we’re about to leave for greenstone walk!!!.

Yesterday made 2 greenstone carvings because was quick and was tiny bit small my first one

My dolphin is awesome    and for my girlfriend

Looking forward to finishing my carving

Noooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! Not the walk

I know =(

Honestly I told the leaders to do an alarm but not like that though

Great walk.  Did the hike in 90 min exactly. Suck on that Michelangelo

Great walk can’t wait until tonight we are going to see glow-worms

You are slow people Michelangelo YAWN!!!!! Put a sock in it and suck a lemon when you read this (laugh)

This is Scouts, not the army…

This is a blog not a thing to tell people what to do!

We made lunch for you like a professional

Somewhat missing the knife part of the wake up call but then again this isn’t Knife camp

Looking for pounamu was fun

Carving pounamu was fun too!!!!!

Completed the carving, was fantastic!!! 

The museum’s radios are awesome!!!

I know my fav were the knitting , BBQ and the pavlova

My favourite is the “splitting the atoms radio and the bush radio”, what’s your favourite?

Ahhh, the sweet sensation of carving a Toki!!! Ahhh.

Sup guys I cool.

Got one cool looking pendant!!

No one has complained about the Venturers taste in music – I am surprised!!!!

For tomorrow – I don’t like Mondays? Seems fitting, is the last day of camp after all…..and the last day of the weekend…

Mmmmm, my apple tastes delicious!!!!!! Ps. Learn ur gramma (3 lines above ^^^).

Finally made the CRUMBLE of apple crumble after 1-2 hours

Got to love muse :D but the music has been awesome in general

Wha’? did I hear my name being called?!!

Who took my balaclava?

Feeling amazing after having a swim and a shower!!! Ahhhh.  0_0

Funny how scouts can handle only ONE instruction at a time!!!

Fooooooooooooood

I hate doing duty patrol because I have to do everything and I’m hungry!!!!!! 

I think my group is la-a-a-azy

Dinner was go-o-o-od I hope dessert is better

Dessert was delicious mmm- mmm

Good meal, great company.

Going to see glow-worms now hurray I’ve never seen one before so its going to be a cool experience

If only luca was here, he would eat one.

Decided to not go to the glow worms, seen them loads before and will do again.

Just came back from glow-worms they were stunning and looked like stars that are bright

Glow worms cool would like to see again

First time ever seen glow worms su-u-u-u per AWESOME






Monday

Breakfast and clean up and we are on the road again – home here we come.

Richard Hammond is driving a very old slow car!!!
Fantastic clouds on the way – Greymouth barber.

Jon-e wanting to play with the big toys.



The End

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Monday, June 2, 2014

Annual westcoast trip - rock hunting

Monday, June 2, 2014 0
oldbearnews editor


           Every year for the past nine years - I have taken a  group of scouts across our Alps to the Westcoast.  We bunk down in a hall and do various activities that include a day hike.  The four main activites (which get rotated from year to year) include such things as knife making / Pounamu carving / Coal scuplting and digging for gold.

        This year - we went back to Hokitika, the jade capital for New Zealand.  We left Friday around 5 pm and drove in near darkness across the main alpine divide (Arthurs Pass) - I say near darkness - because we had brilliant blue sky during the day and at night we had star-lit roads. In fact - we usually stop at Arthurs pass and the night sky was just stunning - the milky way was - just milky!!  So wish I had taken my tripod.  Alas I was already carrying enough electronic gear.  Pretty soon it will out weigh the regular camping gear!! Anyhow - we arrived late and had fun getting the oven going for a late night pizza snack - seems a mouse ate through cables and shorted that out!!
Scouts brought the gear in and then it was time to set up the sleeping arrangements - Army style.  I started the row - then there was Brush followed by Squeek then Mr Schick and then - - hmmm never mind.

The  sleeping arrangements.  In the middle the tables to sit and eat and play and . . . ..  
 The hall now has two heat-pumps so it was quite warm - luxurious even!!  Only thing that was missing was a shower!!


 



This scout was ready for bed!  Guess he did look a bit less happy when woken up again at 6am with the, by now traditional, wakeup call / music, starting with a bugle call played from the PC!!
yess some traditions are worth keeping!!





There are cameras everywhere!! No escaping big brother!! I did notice however the "looking over glasses look"
when taking pictures - something I am starting to do myself!  Something about older age etc.    sighs
Next day - one patrol was of for a hike in the bush and did an outdoor cooking of soup and stuff while the other patrol was taken upriver by Dan ( a local Maori elder) and looked for green-stone - while the fabled Rodin patrol was able to select their design and start the carving of green-stone!  Picking and choosing can take longer then you would think!!  There are plenty of templates and design options and inevitable everyone makes and adjusts their own choice / design as they go along!!
Using a dremel drill with diamonds to carve and reduce and shape and hollow and . . . .   hey was that my thumb that just got a tickle up - urm - not this time!!
Until you end up with a simple teardrop or fishhook or Koru or . . . . . .
This particular teardrop turned out to be a teeny wee bit larger then anticipated - but is its weight worth in gold!!  The actual jade is/was sourced from near Jackson Bay / Haast region!! It has the classic moonshine effect!!  Now just need to polish it off then get a rope attached . . . . . .  then wear it for a while . . . . .
When it was time to get home and have lunch and thus leave the workshop empty, so that the other patrol could do their carving,  we found some wet shoes sitting outside in the sun drying off.  Seems the 'look in the river for NZ jade' activity  does mean you get your feet wet - not to mention your socks and trousers!!
Vinnie enjoying a bit of a break.  He lately always comes with us to the coast trips.  Brodie on the other hand is a teeny wee bit jealous as he has stayed at home for a number of years now  - and this has NUTHING to do with the fact that Brodie has always been camping when it rained!!
Suffice to say - this year, we had sunshine all the way - yet again!!  Vinnie certainly living up to his reputation!! 
At the end of the second day - every bit of carved pounamu was hung up.  There were some very creative designs!!
In case you are wondering - the papers' have the names of the owners written on,  as we seem to have forgetful youth amongst us  . . . .
A close up - but it was not great as the light was - well not great and so forth
I ended up using a camp-light and maneuvered that round while getting real close and NOT used the flash to take pics of each and every carved piece.  There are to many to show here so there is just a cross sample here.
The colors of the stones vary - they are not the usual green at all - some of them can look milky and semi white while there are others that have very deep dark lines.  
Some have specks and others - have not!!  As said before - my own personal preference are the stones that come from near Haast - there is something about that - but I digress


Here you can see a more intricate piece (belonging to Brush).  We did go back there the next day to finish this - so he has spent about 8 or 9 hours on this particular carving.  The extra time was  needed due to the complexity of the design (and cutting and polishing the wee holes curves etc)


We opened up the laptop and left a word file open for anyone to write what they felt about camp / food / things etc.  A full transcript can be found here --->
annual-westcoast-trip-blog-by-youth
they got right into this!!
Well done everybody!!
On Sunday night we invited Steve and his wife along with Dan and Frazer to a meal.  This was a semi formal thing with speeches and so here they are being greeted.
The reply
ahhhhh - yes eventually we got to feeding the troops - chilly con-carne!!
There was even time to hang five and play the guitar - although judging by the expression of this scout - he was waiting for his dinner - or was that dessert???
Eventually we got round to doing what we had promised - part payment - was the price of a scarf - well I guess Dan is now a member of Gordon Scouts.  Turns out that he was a former Cup at Papanui - so not to far away from our own group!!
Then came what everyone had waited for - the formal presentation of the individual pounamu!!   I was tasked with taking a picture of everyone - and got that with the exception of one youth - just as the camera decided to have a wee hissy-fit!!  bummer
A personal moment for one of our youth!  There were some lovely touches and speeches and far to many photos to show here - or all of them!!
The next morning  - time to pack and come back home.
This rates as - hmmmm     "I was sure I packed my teddy in here"   - then again - am I still wearing it??  Nah - Chef - whatever it was (sanity) you where looking for - it was not in here . . . . . . . .
Ready to pack the van and almost time to come home
Just have to do a final clean up.  We always endeavor to leave the place in better shape then we found it in (that scouting ethos coming into play here) so we wash and mop and clean and - yeah!!
The trip home was again in sunshine along with some stunning fog-driven valley's and mountain ranges!
I gladly came home - there is nothing like your own bed to look forward to! :)  Another successful annual west-coast trip completed and some very happy campers delivered safe and sound back to their caregivers.  Well done to Chris who organized everything!!


(There are a whole lot more pictures here and of course on other peoples cameras and cellphones etc - hmmm wonder how we gonna chatch up with all of them)

Next year - Coal in and around Denniston for Gordon Scouts!!



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Sunday, June 1, 2014

Annual Westcoast trip - special Rodin patrol

Sunday, June 1, 2014 0
oldbearnews editor

This year should be quite different.
I used to run these camps - in fact this would have been my 10th camp.  However - I got conned into "training" other leaders into camping so I kept the Westcoast camping experience going.  This year, we went with a troop from Torlesse Zone and the leader in charge was already on his 4th camp. I (and Brush) were tagging along just as observers.  So Brush and myself along with two other members of the famous AITSSS  (oops should have said SECRET)  group became a adult Patrol with limited and special duties.  A weird feeling being on this camp and not having to worry and/or  organize food / transport / accommodation etc etc.

Anyhow - it was a VERY relaxing camp and we had a great time.
Impressions below


The biggest challenge - picking up what to do/make.
There are literally thousands of things you carve - from traditional Maori carvings - past wannabe look-a-like Maori carvings to the - well - kitsch I guess.  If I had time (and money) naturally I may have made a Teddy-bear!!  Alas - I made a teardrop pendant instead!!













 Using a Dremel drill with diamond tips to do the fine cutting/grinding/shaping!!








 

The Pendant - cut / shaped and half polished!!
Yes there was much more work to be done!!





 



Here is me hard at work - polish, look, polish, look, polish, look etc;  - hmmmm should have brought my reading glasses with me.  I must admit - this getting older thing  (and supposedly wiser - yeah right) has it's drawbacks, one of which is that I now need reading glasses . . .     Sighs




 In the afternoon we had to leave the workshop as the ankle-biters - oooops Scouts came to do their Green-stone carving.  So we had the afternoon of.  I asked if anyone had yet seen the new-ish made walk in the tree top attraction! None had, so decision made we would go there.  Bold as brass I went to the Till and asked "seeing I had been already 5 x since they opened if I could get discount" - which they promptly did - making me a Senior Citizen - much to my fellow leaders delight!! I will never live that down.




 



The cafe nearby - with amazing reflections in the wall!!







 


In between we saw Mount Cook from the distance!!








 


Looking west and seeing the sun disappear behind the clouds. 











Same time same place - just looking East





 Same time same place and looking south - Mount Cook in the distance and having a red glow!!








 
 We went back on the next day and finished our own master pieces.

the day after it was time to head back home - Little Jon-e taken with these cloud formation - the "Greymouth Barber"!
It washes over the hill and has an amazing chill factor!!

Another misty river bank up the Taramakau river.
 More early-ish morning fog/mist











The Cub-pack couple - still all grins after spending so much time together!! Wonder what they talked bout during the car journey!!  
Myself and Brush, we clocked up in excess of 10 000km in a van - but THAT story will keep for another day!





Canterbury is famous for it's braided rivers, and this is the Waimakariri near Arthurs pass.  Already braided and much more to go (some 150km ) before it goes out into the sea near Christchurch.







 Four happy campers with their unique Pounamu!!





 Time to come home - unpack and re-connect with my lovely mamabear!!

I resurrected a bit from a much much earlier FB account musings! enjoy reading the stories below.

greenstone

April 25, 2011 at 5:31pm
Pounamu (greenstone/jade) holds a special place in Maori culture and the reasons are bound tightly into the stone age culture of the Maori. New Zealand jade carving is unique in its designs and forms. We owe this to the Maori who have refined techniques of working with the stone over a long period of time. Early Maori discovered Pounamu's ability to retain a hard, sharp edge making it ideal as cutting tools. We can trace their use of Pounamu back to the twelfth century. Because of its extreme hardness, Pounamu was used by the Maori for weapons and tools. Maori
made adzes (toki), chisels (whao), and war clubs (Mere) from nephrite jade, they fitted the jade to wooden handles and lashed them together using flax cords or simple thongs of leather or flax like a camera strap. It is also prized for ornaments - pendants and earrings.
Because of it's scarcity and the difficulty in working the hard stone (Mere could take months to create), Pounamu tools and weapons attained great value and were traded and used as peace offerrings between warring tribes. Broken tools were rarely discarded. The broken pieces were reworked into smaller tools, ornaments and  jewelery. Thus Pounamu gained special significance for the Maori and now for all New Zealanders. Legends and traditions vary, but the core belief is that in addition to the Mana or spiritual power inherent in the stone, Pounamu absorbs the 'mana' of its
wearers/owners. This mana builds over the lifetime of the piece. It is a stone held to be tapu (sacred) and that it can be both dangerous and protective depending on the
spirit within it, the shape it is carved into, and the events associated with it. Pounamu items are traditionally gifted to persons to provide them with good luck and increase their spiritual health/power. Kept for yourself, the good luck turns to bad. The Maori also believe that a piece of Pounamu will always yearn to return to its source in the rivers and mountains of New Zealand (keep wearing it and you'll be coming back!).
Tradition has it that a greenstone pendant should be given to a special person and not bought for yourself. The sacredness (tapu) comes in the passing of 'mana' to someone who has earned it. It is believed that a carving which is worn with respect or given and received with love, takes on part of the spirit of those who wear or handle it. In this way it becomes a spiritual link between people spanning time and
distance. A carving that has been worn by family or tribal members over many generations contains the spirit of all of those people and is truly a great and
powerful treasure (Taonga). Traditional Maori carvings all have meanings attached to them representing the history and mythology of the Maori people. Many carvings combine elements from several areas of mythology which interact with each other to tell a story. Each element has its own specific meaning and the way they are  portrayed or combined is what gives a carving its own special character. The
meanings of some elements vary from region to region but all share common roots.
Your teardrop shape, symbolises healing and comfort, positive energy and  reassurance. The beauty of jade is unsurpassed with its semi- translucent look and swirls of green that seem to float deep within the stone. Hold a jade carving up to the light and you will truly be looking into another world. Hold it in your hand or against your skin and it will transform into a dark green, almost black, with subtle glimpses of its secret inner life appearing as it moves. Nephrite jade naturally ranges in colour from a very pale green to a very dark, almost black. Wear it frequently and the oils of your skin will add to the warmth and lustre of the Pounamu. I didn't get a real good look at the pieces we gave you but recall them being lighter coloured pieces? So the colours you see holding your pendant to the sun will be more as described for Tangiwai, Inanga or Kahurangi. All that aside, Pounamu is a stone of great beauty
and value.

Caring & Wearing of your Pounamu pendant.
Pounamu will benefit from the addition of light, scented oil and if it is not being worn very regularly, is best stored in a felt or leather pouch. A very light smear of oil in the pouch will enhance carved pounamu with a beautiful warm gloss. Pounamu is normally suspended from thin leather or plaited flax, metal chains do not harmonise with the stone. It was traditional for a piece to be worn level with the cavity where the two collarbones meet above the chest.  Greenstone is a term peculiar to New
Zealand to describe nephrite, and sometimes bowenite. It is known in Maori as Pounamu. New Zealand greenstone is either the mineral nephrite or bowenite.
Pounamu is the Maori group term for both nephrite and bowenite. This greenish-coloured rock was used to make tools, weapons and jewellery. Maori classified pounamu according to colour and named many varieties. There are four (4) main types:
Kawakawa, Kahurangi, Inanga and Tangiwai.

The first three are nephrite and the fourth - Tangiwai is bowenite. Although the Maori placed Tangiwai as a variety of Pounamu, they knew of its difference and
limitations. Three others are Kakotea, Kohuwa and Totoweka  Jade - The name given to two types of silicate minerals, which come in a variety of colours, though the most valued is green. The finest jade is jadeite (which does not occur in New Zealand) and nephrite. Both are very hard and tough. Most New Zealand greenstone, the nephrite variety, is jade. Nephrite - is the only jade mineral found in New Zealand. The Maori names Kahurangi, Kawakawa and Inanga refer to varieties of the nephrite. Kahurangi is a highly translucent, lightish green greenstone with lighter streaks (which look like clouds) and free from dark spots or any flaws. It is one of the rarest varieties of Pounamu. Kawakawa, a strong dark green greenstone with varying intermediate shades and is named because its color resembles that of the leaf of the kawakawa or lofty pepper tree (macropiper excelsum). Inanga (whitebait) is pearly-whitish, grey-green coloured greenstone which can be translucent and with a fine texture. Kakotea - streaky dark green greenstone with black spots
Totoweka - especially rare, usually streaked with white or spotted with red.
Bowenite (Tangiwai) – is a very translucent, olive- green to bluish-green type of serpentine, found mainly near the entrance to Milford Sound in the South Island.
In New Zealand, sources of nephrite are confined to the South Island. The districts surrounding the Taramakau and Arahura Rivers in Westland and the Lake Wakatipu area of Otago are where the main deposits have been found as river boulders washed down from the parent rock in the Southern Alps. Bowenite is found as beach boulders and pebbles at Anita Bay in Milford Sound. From the gold workings on the west coast of the South Island much greenstone was secured, and lapidaries, both in New Zealand and overseas, found a ready sale for it as curios, at first to the Maori and afterwards to tourists and collectors. This trade has continued, but the use of greenstone by the Maori declined so rapidly that by the end of the nineteenth
century its fashioning was a lost art. With the virtual cessation of gold mining, greenstone is becoming increasingly more difficult to obtain; hence, to conserve stocks and also to encourage local manufacture of imitation Maori ornaments, jewellery, and souvenirs, an embargo on the export of raw greenstone came into force in April 1947. At the present time high-quality greenstone artefacts are in
keen demand as collectors' pieces and fetch high prices on the open market.
The value of greenstone lies in its beauty and its toughness and hardness, a result partly of mineral composition, but primarily of a characteristic felting and interweaving of minute mineral fibres. On the whole, bowenite greenstone is inferior to nephrite. The greenstone at Milford Sound, “tangiwai” is not really greenstone at all as it is not nephrite but bowenite. The word tangiwai came from the Maori legend relating to the petrification of the tears of a lamenting woman. Sometimes it is referred to as koko-tangiwai, koko meaning ear pendant, and this
signifies its predominant use. Tangiwai has all the mystique of Pounamu and highly prized by Maori. It is softer than nephrite so easier to work. It is a very beautiful stone. The true splendour of tangiwai is only revealed when it has light behind it that illuminate the white speckles that resemble tear drops in the stone. Tangiwai means, “tear water” in Maori Legends. The Maoris have an interesting legend concerning
the bringing of greenstone to New Zealand. Originally, it is alleged, there were two stones, Poutini (the greenstone) and Whaiapu, which belonged to Ngahue and the chieftainess Hina-tua-hoanga respectively. The latter became jealous of Ngahue's
stone and drove him from Hawaiki. Eventually his canoe, Tahirirangi, reached New Zealand and Ngahue hid his greenstone near Arahura on the west coast of the South Island. It was very well hidden and lies there to this day; however, small portions are
occasionally broken off and carried down the river. These pieces provide the Maori with his source of greenstone.

Origin of Greenstone - Tangiwai
Tama-Ahua was deserted by his three wives, Hine-Kawakawa, Hine-Kahurangi, and Hine-Pounamu. No one knew where they had gone. Tama ranged vainly round the southern coasts. At Piopiotahi he heard a suspicious noise and paddled through the towering walls of the sound. There he found one of his wives turned into a translucent greenstone. He bent over the cold body. The tears ran down his face and onto the hard stone, penetrating it until the tangiwai was flecked with tears and remain to be seen there to this today.

Legend of Poutini (abbreviated)
To Maori the West Coast is known as Tai Poutini. Poutini was a taniwha, a giant water being swimming up and down the West Coast of the South Island protecting both the people and the spiritual essence or mauri of pounamu. Poutini guards the mauri within the treasured stone. The mana or spiritual force of pounamu comes from Kahue (or Ngahue) an atua (God). Poutini as protector of the stone is the servant
of Kahue. Poutini once abducted a women, Waitaiki, from the North Island and fled south pursued by her husband. He hid with his captive in the bed of the Arahura
River but Waitaiki's husband pursued them. Poutini transformed Waitaiki into his own spiritual essence - Pounamu - and fled down river to the sea. Waitaiki became the mother lode of all pounamu. The husband went home grieving.

 
Have fun


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