Kawhia

While I was out shopping this week a lady in a shop stopped me and spoke to me and we chatted for a while. She didn’t live in Hamilton so I asked her what she was doing in this area and she told me that she was here for a meeting with the tribes around  this area to help them sort out land issues. I am really interested in the Maori culture so she told me about Kawhia Kai Festival that was happening on Saturday. So I told her I would do my very best to go. We did go and thoroughly enjoyed our day. Kai is Moari for food so as you can imagine Elder Saunders said “Don’t you get me to eat anything!”

We took with us two of the missionaries that finished their mission next week Elder Moore and Elder Jenson. I hope they enjoyed their day we certainly enjoyed their company. It took us over an hour to get to Kawhia (pronounced Ka fe a). One of the first things we saw was the children coming to shore on Wakas (Maori canoes) and chanting a Haka. When they climbed out of their Wakas they then did a Haka on the shore. It was great, didn’t understand a work they said but it was still great. I had a traditional meal that was cooked in the ground a Hangi. It constisted of Chicken, Pork, Potato, Kumara and fried bread and it was delicious. Now the question you are all asking is did Elder Saunders try anything, of course he did, but only the pork.