Glow-Worms and Kawakawa Tea

by Sarita Dasgupta

A cup of Kawakawa tea. You can see the antique stove on which it's brewed in the background

My last trip abroad was to Aotearoa – The Land of the Long White Cloud. An appropriate name for New Zealand, which always seems to have an unbroken bank of clouds lying serenely overhead. It is the most beautiful country I have ever visited, giving stiff competition to the scenic Pacific North West (Washington state) in USA.

Every place I visited had its own breath-taking beauty. While in Rotorua on North Island, I went to see the natural geysers, the thermal park with its volcanic rock formations, sulphur lakes and bubbling mud pools, a Maori village, and the spectacular glow-worm caves. It was at the Footwhistle Glow-worm cave that I first tasted the native Kawakawa tea.

Inside the cave

The Footwhistle Cave (or Te Anaroa Cave in Maori) is a stunning limestone labyrinth beneath the hills of Waitomo, with luminescent glow-worm displays. One enters in the pitch dark and looks up to see spots glowing like a constellation of stars on the ceiling of the cave. The ‘worms’ are the larva-like wingless female beetles which emit light in the lower abdomen, to attract the flying male. They produce hanging threads that look like strands of pearls amidst the limestone stalactites.

The cave belongs to 45-year-old Kyle Barnes. Kyle has more than 20 years guiding and customer service experience. His father, Ross, started guiding at the Glow-worm Caves in the early 1970s. He later joined the Department of Conservation as a Ranger, building walkways in the area. Two of his creations are rated in the top ten short walks in New Zealand.

When I asked Kyle how he’d come to own the cave, he said, "In New Zealand, if you own the land above the cave you own that section of the cave. My father and I helped develop and open the cave as a Blackwater rafting tour in 1991. I started as one of the first guides in 1992. I would crawl up the side passageways and I found that entrance you walked into. I realised it was on the neighbouring farm. I worked as a guide and slowly bought some houses and rented them and in 2007 sold everything to buy this farm. I purchased it and then the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) hit and all of a sudden, I owed more than the farm was worth. It was difficult to keep the farm and I sold off parts of it while we developed the cave."

Kyle Barnes walking down to the Footwhistle Cave

 "We opened the Footwhistle section of the cave in 2010. My father, brother-in-law, a local lady (Colleen, who was your guide) and myself guide the tour. My wife and sister-in-law work in the office." I asked Kyle about the Kawakawa trees on his land. He said many of them were growing on the land already, but he and his family had planted several hundred more.

Sir John Key in the Ponga Tea Hut

In March 2014, the then Prime Minister of New Zealand, Sir John Phillip Key, inaugurated the Ponga Tea Hut, a quaint log cabin at the top of the path leading out of the cave. There is a tall Kawakawa tree right outside the hut. The Prime Minister had planted that on his visit. Kyle says they developed the bush tea ceremony concept to appeal to tourists seeking a unique experience. Visitors stop off for a cup of complimentary Kawakawa tea after touring the caves.

Colleen leading us into the caves

After our walk through the glow-worm cave, our guide, Colleen, led us to the Ponga Tea Hut, where we sat at the charmingly laid out tables while she boiled hot water in a kettle on an antique iron stove and brewed the dried Kawakawa leaves. She then served us cups of the refreshing ‘tea’. As we sat and sipped the delicious brew, I looked out of the window at the Kawakawa tree and asked Colleen to tell me more about the special nature of this genus.

She told me that it belonged to the pepper plant class of trees (Macropiper Excelsum, as I found out later). It is native to New Zealand, and has distinctive bright green heart shaped leaves.

Kawakawa leaves

The Maori use its fruit, bark and leaves not only for medicinal purposes but also as a significant part of traditional ceremonies. An infusion of the leaves makes a tasty, refreshing cup of ‘tea’ which is considered good for digestion. It was drunk as ‘tea’ by early European settlers while awaiting shipments of black tea, but they soon discovered that it served as a great ‘pick me up’, as it was a refreshing and rejuvenating tonic, which increased one’s energy and stamina.

The Kawakawa leaves are harvested and hung in small bunches in a dry, airy room away from direct sunlight to reduce the moisture content. The leaves can also be dried for 12 hours in a food dehydrator set to its lowest heat setting. The dried leaves are separated from the stems (which are discarded) and placed in a pot with water brought to a boil then simmered for 15 minutes, allowing the water to reduce by a ¼ cup. A piece of ginger can also be added to the boiling water along with the leaves if desired. The brew is strained and served plain, or with a squeeze of lemon juice and raw Manuka honey (another New Zealand specialty). As Kawakawa tea has a relaxing and calming effect on the digestive system, it is a good postprandial drink.

Among the many exceptional and memorable experiences I had in New Zealand, walking through the magical Footwhistle Glow-worm Cave, and tasting the unique Kawakawa tea at the Ponga Tea Hut, would be somewhere on top of the list.

Pictures by Sarita Dasgupta and Kyle Barnes

Meet the writer: Sarita Dasgupta

Sarita enjoying a warm cup of Kawakawa tea

"As a ‘chai ka baby’ (and grandbaby!) and then a ‘chai ka memsahab’, I sometimes wonder if I have tea running through my veins! 

I have been writing for as long as can remember – not only my reminiscences about life in ‘tea’ but also skits, plays, and short stories. My plays and musicals have been performed by school children in Guwahati, Kolkata and Pune, and my first collection of short stories for children, called Feathered Friends, was published by Amazing Reads (India Book Distributors) in 2016. My Rainbow Reader series of English text books and work books have been selected as the prescribed text for Classes I to IV by the Meghalaya Board of School Education for the 2018-2019 academic session, and I have now started writing another series for the same publisher.

More stories by Sarita here : https://teastorytellers.blogspot.com/search/label/Sarita%20Dasgupta

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