From Christchurch, it took us by air with propeller two hours to reach Chatham Island. It was the setting for the first sunrise after the millennium or one hundred years.
It was originally inhabited by Moriori as contradistinguished from Maori. They lived in a society where there is no rigid social division; they forbade tribal warfare; they settled disputes on a one-to-one basis with hand-to-hand combat.
On the following day, we visited the 200 year-old Moriori Tribe carvings (dendroglyphs).
During the first day, I was invited by the hotel owner to witness how their group accumulated abalones to satisfy a commercial requirement.
Due to the agility of the four members comprising the group, they were able to accumulate truckloads of abalones more than what was required of them.
We were able to visit the basalt rock formation which is blacker, greater and wider than the Causeway (declared as World Heritage Site) in Ireland.
I learned also from the family of my guide that the founder of the Most Traveled People Club (MTPC) visited the place. Unlike the other visitors who stayed only for one day to satisfy the point system under the Traveler’s Century Club (TCC) or MTPC, the former stayed for one week.
Being able to visit a very remote area not visited by many gives the feeling of greatness.