Tattoos in New Zealand

When we were finished in Japan, our next stop was New Zealand. First, I had a couple days to write script and see my friends Matt & Minette and their daughter Lillian:




It was a bit windy on the Auckland volcano where all the tour buses stop (CAUTION: LOUD WINDY NOISE ON VIDEO!):


Then we went back to their house in Ponsonby. Matt and I headed out for beers. After a long red-eye flight from Japan via Australia, this was the perfect antidote:


Back at their house, Lillian showed off:




I headed off for some surfing in Raglan...and stayed in an eco-hostel where the cabins were made from recycled train cabooses:


Then we got to work. In Auckland, we met Maori tattoo artist Tu Duley, a great guy and excellent artist. He tattooed our host:










Then he invited us to join him on an adventure. He was heading up into the mountains of the
Te Urewera National Park, to a village called Te Mapou, where his tribe, the Tuhoe people have lived for centuries. They're the only Maori tribe who weren't colonized by the Europeans, and they live pretty close to the land - under the shadow of their sacred mountain, Maungapohatu:


We filmed the drive:


When we arrived, they did a traditional welcoming ceremony:


Here's a video of us approaching the Marae:


Then Tu tattooed some facial mokos on other members of the tribe:


Tu looking like a stud:


Rua Kenana is the prophet who founded the town in 1908:


Then we spent the night in the longhouse - the marae - and left the next day. All in all, an amazing trip.