This is a collection of photos that my husband, myself, and my friend took on a trip to New Zealand or Aotearoa. I wrote this poem about Aotearoa when my grandfather passed away in 1996, just wanted to share my love with this country.

1. They say
it was fished from the sea…

2. Aotearoa
land of the long white cloud
by Dena Fife

3. The deep seas
are calling me

4. The mountains
are howling my name

5. to come
home

6. The land of my ancestors
the land of my mother

7. The land which I am from

8. Beautiful with grace
steals your breath away

9. which runs through
my soul, my heart, my blood

10. Engulfs me
like a wave of wonder

11. Oh how the sea
calls me

12. Oh how the mountains
howl for me to come

13. And I so faraway
can hear it loudly

14. because I am your lost child
in a world not my own

15. And my soul
yearns to break free

16. back to Aotearoa
fished from the sea…

17. Credits
Photography
Dena and Darren Fife
Porshia Perkins
Poem
Dena Fife