By Bob Van Leer

  (Wellington, New Zealand, March 8, 2003) - Instead of a tour, Betty and I spent much of the day in the National Museum - Te Papa Tongarewa. The museum is outstanding. We had been there before and wanted more time to visit it. It has wonderful Maori collections as well as much of the history of the Europeans in New Zealand.

  A special exhibit when we were there was the Lord of the Rings collection. The movies were made in New Zealand. On display were many of the costumes and artifacts used in the movies as well as background notes on how they were made and used.

  In the evening, Filipino members of the crew put on a special show of native dancing and skits. One that fascinates me is the Bamboo Dance. Two bamboo poles rest on a support about three-four inches above the floor and about 18 inches-two feet apart. Two men, one on each end, move the poles to a beat. Three times they tap the poles on the support, and on the fourth beat they slam the poles together in the middle. Dancers dance on each side of the poles and between them. If the dancer's timing is off and their feet are still in the space between the poles when they are slammed together, this would be very painful.
Tonight we will be underway on a two-day run to Sydney, Australia.