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Published: March 26th 2015
You may be surprised to know that there is a Stonehenge Aotearoa constructed to mirror the celestial sphere of the southern hemisphere. I was, and I had to go see it for myself. On our final weekend of vineyard sitting in Martinborough, my two friends James and Katharina came to visit. The four of us set out on an adventure: we went wine tasting, exploring the Stonehenge, and to a pick your own (PYO) lavender farm.
We started our adventure on a drive in the wrong direction. The small bumble bee of a car took us over steep hills that looked over valleys for kilometers. We dipped into trenches of heavy growth and rock faces, only to come out and see fields with white cotton balls littering the surface. Then we turned around and did the same drive back in the other direction.
Stonehenge Aotearoa
The map on James’ cellular device brought us through winding backroads, over hills, and past endless sheep farms. We saw few cars and seemed to be heading even further into the middle of nowhere. After making a right at an awkward, three way intersection, we came to a sign directing us to
the Stonehenge. A left brought us down a one lane gravel drive through a side sweep of wild flowers. Cows grazed on one side of the road and sheep on the other. Was this built in someones backyard?! I thought to myself.
Entering the property, we pulled into the small carpark and went into the small gift and information shop. For $8 we each bought a ticket for a self guided tour and were directed to a small theater to watch a short film.
The film explained that the Phoenix Astronomical Society built the Stonehenge. It took two years to build and opened in 2005. Though not made of real stone, the henge was built to a similar scale as the one in England. It is also important to note that it is not a replica, but rather an adaptation that mirrors the celestial sphere of the southern hemisphere based on its specific geographical location.
The Stonehenge has many purposes. The main purpose is to “inspire people of all ages to rediscover the knowledge of their ancestors” and it combines modern scientific knowledge with ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Celtic, Polynesian and Maori star lore. It is used to
teach maramataka, which is the Mauri lunar calendar of time and seasons. The stones also from a Polynesian star compass and can be used to teach navigation.
The center of the henge has incredible acoustics so often musicians, and choirs will fill the space with music. The facility holds both guided and self-guided tours. They hold special events on the equinox and solstice, and is used for weddings and private parties.
We left the small theater and followed a path around the building. A garden path leads us straight through the enormous stone archways. The structure was impressive in size. Each of the openings served as a frame for the hills, farmland, and mountains scattered through the distance. The sun slipped from cloud to cloud, and a lingering breeze filled the open space. Around the henge, there were other structures of note. In the center, there is a five-meter high obelisk, which can be used to located the south celestial pole. There is a concrete mural of the varying star signs that lay on the ground in front of the obelisk. The shadow cast by the sun transforms the mosaic mural into a calendar showing the season, dates
and solstices. A cluster of seven stones protrudes from the earth like fingers. These are called the seven sisters who in astronomy is the Pleiades star cluster and whose rising used to mark the beginning of the year.
As we looked around, we met one of the tour guides who was talking to a group of visitors. He told us about our correct star signs. Apparently modern astrology was based on 300-year-old data and this whole time people have been using the incorrect star signs. He told me that I am a Virgo, not a Libra. I was motivated to look up more about star signs and how they relate to me.
Overall I was intrigued by the Stonehenge. However, the perfect angles and flat surfaces of the stones left the energy of the space feeling empty and clearly man made. In some ways, I had hoped to find some inspiration or energizing life within the stones. But they weren’t stones. The large blocks were simply concrete covered styrofoam, and I could not get passed the fact. Still the structure is an incredible resource for New Zealand, and I would love to come to visit it on a
clear star filled night.
Lavender Farm
After the Stonehenge we went to a PYO lavender farm. The 20 minute drive brought us through even more backroads, long stretches of farmland and fields of sheep grazing. We came into the small town of Carterton and turned left down another country road. A sign lead us into a field to park and we made our way up the tent and tables of lavender goods for sale.
Long rows of lavender bushes ran across the ground in perfect lines. There were people on their knees gathering bunches of lavender while kids playing in the rows.
Katherina and I both got a pair of scissors and a rubber band to collect our own bunches of lavender. I walked down one of the rows and sat in front of a bush. The wind flirted with the small buds as each blossom danced. Bees hopped from stem to stem, getting their nectar. Lavender honey! I thought to myself. The grass between the rows was soft and the clouds above lingered like a slow moving mobile across the rural backdrop of mountains, decade old barns and a tractor herding sheep.
There was a lavender photo contest, so we took photos of us with the purple bushes, doing acro yoga, and simply picking. The experience was therapeutic as the aroma of the lavender plants created a bubble around you, blending only with the smell of the earth and sunscreen.
Poppies, Again.
After Katharina and I got our bunches of Lavender, we headed back to Martinborough. As we passed through town we stopped at our favorite winery, Poppies. Here we all did a wine tasting and then sat down for an incredible snack platter and a glass of wine. That evening James and Katharina came out to the vineyard to do a little leaf plucking. The sun was high in the sky, but a breeze made the temperature tolerable. We plucked leaves in silence, absorbing the therapeutic rhythm and the freshness of the experience. Soon they were back on the road to Wellington.
Katherine and Jeremy returned on Thursday. We made then dinner, and talked about our time on the vineyard and their time on the South Island. The next morning I went out with Katherine to do a final row of leaf plucking and then Jhene
and I said our goodbyes and headed out.
On our way back, we stopped at the Ruamahanga River for a dip. The water was cool and crisp and gave us a jolt of energy to start our not so long drive back to Wellington. I laid a small towel down on the rock covered shore, the sun glistened on the rainbow surfaces of the abalone shells that lay shattered and crushed across the rocks. We spent some time admire them and even saw a few whole, unbroken shells in the bottom of the river.
It was a nice and relaxing detox, before we went back into the grind of job hunting, classes, and normalcy.
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Isaac Luhrs
non-member comment
Great Job
I do believe that camping in the sphere of the hindge would have been a necessity for my over all satisfaction. Glad your having a great time