Oh i love the earings & pendant.

Thanks for sharing.

I bought some Canadian jade in BC last year as well (a mother seal and baby) plus I have a number of pieces of NZ jade which I love.

Also, a friend returned from a tour of Mexico last month and bought me a Mayan-style jaguar pendant in jade. According to the leaflet that came with it, the Mayans revered jade above all else and its value was greater than gold.

For some reason Jade seems to evoke very special responses wherever in the world it is found.

I also have a beautiful piece of New Zealand jade. It is a Kia, the very naughty New Zealand parrot, known for stealing anything shiny and destroying everything.

NZ Nurse I had forgotten about the tradition of having jade given as a gift, but remembered when you posted that. My husband gave me my little parrot.

I also have a large wooden carving of Tutanekai, which we purchased from Whakaewarewa, the Moari cultural village in Rotorua. The story of Hinemoa and Tutanekai is a love story.

I really enjoy my art pieces from around the world.

A song that is attributed to Hinemoa and Tutanekai is Pokarekare Ana. Hinemoa had her own song she sang to Tutanekai every evening, however the words of Pokarekare Ana are said to suit the love story .

Most Australians who went to school in the 50's and 60's would have learnt this song in their classroom. I am sure every New Zealander would know the song, regardless of age.

I have just returned from a 20 day tour in New Zealand (run by an Australian company) and absolutely loved it!!! Makes me wonder why I've never been there before. The tour included 5 rail trips which were absolute highlights. The scenery in the South Island is absolutely stunning and so much like the Highlands of Scotland in parts. There was a couple on our tour who'd done the exact same trip last year and loved it so much that they had re booked.

Now I'm back to studying the brochures again for later this year - I hope. So many places and so-o-o difficult to choose. Any trip will always include a stay in London as I have a son living there at the moment. Quite fancying Turkey at the moment.

Bridgette

Bridgette

I'm fancying Turkey for next year, after I visit Egypt in Septmber/October.

Having lived in NZ for 6 years but being an Aussie I must admit I love returning to sightseeing and sample yet again the wonderful icecream!
We went in July about 3 yrs ago and regret we did not have enough time to do a tour.The weather was perfect in the South Island so we were lucky. While living there we were always aware that this country has everything you will find in the rest of the world when it comes to scenery and experiences. I brought my own little bit of NZ back with me from my time living there my 2 kids born there. Go and enjoy.

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I am sure every New Zealander would know the song, regardless of age.

Oh yes indeed!

Bridgette G - sounds like you did the same tour that we did a couple of years ago (GPT) - we loved it too.

That's the one, Steve. Great trip!!!Would do it all again except that there are too many other places to visit. Still tossing up between Turkey plus a trip to Ireland or maybe possibly Spain and Portugal - or Egypt - or Italy or ......?

Oh Dear! How to choose?

Bridgette

Bridgette, you sound just like me.

My travel list includes Turkey, Portugal, Morocco, China, Scandanavia - the list just goes on.

I wish there was more money and more annual leave available

Carmen

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the list just goes on

Yes, but one month from today I can knock Fiji, New Zealand and Australia off the list.

My husband and I just returned from a 14 day tour of New Zealand through AAT Kings. Basically we covered just about everything from Auckland south. We were a full bus-49 people and we were for the most part the only Americans on the bus. There were only two two night stays...lots of wake up calls at 6:15, bags out at 7:15. Sadly, we didn't have the best weather...the last three days of the trip where the scenenry was supposed to be the most stupendous, we had lots and lots of rain. That being said, we thoroughly enjoyed New Zealand. The tour director, Mel, was outstanding...very organized and very nice as well. For me, it is too bad that NZ is so far away...our homeward flights we spent 30 hours in the air! It will be a while before I take a trip of that length again.

Judy ~ I am so pleased you enjoyed your holiday in NZ and Australia, sorry about the rain, but then you didn't come far enough south for the good weather, we have not seen one drop of all that rain. Spooky and her husband are stopping in Adelaide on Friday on their way through to Sydney on the Indian Pacific train, we are expecting 37 degrees Celsius on Friday. Its hard to imagine us in heatwave conditions while some in North America are having blizzards. My husband and I are joining them for breakfast.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Missie,

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Originally posted by joe d:

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the list just goes on

Yes, but one month from today I can knock Fiji, New Zealand and Australia off the list.

joe ~ We look forward to having you visit our great country.