LUATUA FAMILY: New Zealand

This took too long to get posted, but better late than never. We spent most of our time with Mane's family. After 15 years all he really wanted to do was re-connect with his family. We had a great time and are pretty sure we want to live there for a few years once Mane finishes school. I loved his family, they were very accepting of me and they loved Faitala. He of course took almost the whole 2 weeks to warm up to anyone who tried to pick him up but he loved running and playing with his cousins.

We went to the beach on an island just off the coast of Auckland. Tala loved the sand and loved the water even more. It was very cold water and not the warmest day but we could not keep him from the water.

Unfortunately we were only able to go to Mane's hometown of Tokoroa for a weekend. We went and visited as many people as we could. He had a good time remembering all the memories of home and friends. We visited his cousins Fili, Janet and Gogs who we love. I'm sad we didnt spend more time with them.

Mane with Faitala and his niece Gaby

Dallas is about 6 months and the youngest of the cousins. He is super cute and a great baby.

We went to visit a place called "One tree hill" it had a beautiful view. Apparently the one tree is no longer there due to Maori activists.

This is at the top of the hill.

Mane and his sister Tima

Mike and Tima, they have the 2 kids Gaby and Dallas

Another view from the hill. The white spots are sheep.

We went to a place called Te Puia. It is an area preserved to show the way of the Maori people. It was a very cool place. We went to a show and just walked around and looked at the different villages and some of the natural land in the area. The place where this is located is called Rotorua which is not far from where they filmed "The Last Samurai"

Faitala had had enough and was pretty worn out by the end.

Try saying this word!!??

This is where they start the tour. We waited here as a group for the Maori people to come out of the house in the background. They come up as a groupe of warriors to verify that we come in peace. Once that is established then we follow them in for a show of Maori dance and music. It was very cool. Faitala was very bad during the whole thing so it was hard to concentrate but it was fun anyways.

Tima and Mike took some time off and so we went to the Auckland Museum. This is a picture of us standing in front of a Marae. This use this as a meeting place for the village people and chiefs.

The carvings inside were amazing.

Faitala with Gaby and Dallas, his cousins.

We were able to leave Faitala with his Grandma and take some time in the city. Here we are in Auckland at the dock.

3 generations of the Luatua family.

It was time to say goodbye so we got some family pictures before we left. It was very hard to say goodbye. We enjoyed our time in New Zealand but especially with Mane's family. We miss them a lot and still talk about our time with them.