Hangi

This isn't the best photo I took today by a long chalk. Got some great diamond drop shots and some excellent try scoring shots but this shot is what my day has been all about.
Yesterday I picked up a couple of boys from a rugby team over from the UK. Today they played against our South Island Area Schools invitational 15. After the game which was a closely fought affair, there was to be a traditional Maori hangi. Our school caretaker kindly offered to do it and had all the boys round his place to lift the kai and take it back to the Rec centre to eat. This shot includes M one of my billets shoveling some of the earth off the smoking pit, watch over by his team mates.
I can attest to the fact that the food was delieicous. There is nothing better than slow cooked lamb, kumera and pumpkin yum yum yum and steamed pudding done in the hangi too. Excellent.

To "lay a hāngi" or "put down a hāngi" involves digging a pit in the ground, heating stones in the pit with a large fire, placing baskets of food on top of the stones, and covering everything with earth for several hours before uncovering (or lifting) the hāngi.