Down Under – 3/2/14 – Maori show, Geysers, Caves-Rotorura, New Zealand

We leave Wellington as it’s time to head to Rotorura, the center of Maori culture.  We are met at the airport by Roy, our driver for the next few days.  This place is instantly different as the smell of rotten eggs permeates the air…this is an active geothermal area and it has had some gigantic volcanic incidents over recorded time with thousands killed.

There are thermal vents all over the place and each is surrounded by a simple wooden fence.  We learn from Roy that each year 5-10 people die from unintentional interactions with a clear pool of boiling water, mostly kids.  They are quite beautiful to watch…some bubble up through mud and the plopping sounds are quiet warnings to stay away.

This area is also known for the hot baths that have always existed here, we plan to take advantage of them before we leave.

A short ride brings us the the Black Swan Inn  http://blackswanhotel.co.nz/ on the shores of Lake Rotorua. 

It is an intriguing property with an interesting style that is kitschy and gaudy but definitely attractive.  Gretchen, the manager, was a real joy and made our stay wonderful.

We dropped our bags and headed into town for lunch…we meet people from the US all over the place, many as waiter/waitresses.  There is an easy to obtain work visa for people under 30 who can come over for up to a year and work/play…these visa holders are everywhere.

We take time to visit the Rotorua Museum http://www.rotoruamuseum.co.nz/ and it’s a real gem. 

We start off with a movie which is a history of the area.  When it covers the volcanic explosion in the mid-1800s the seats actually start moving around simulating the many earthquakes!  We spend an hour viewing the exhibits which we notice seem much better than the Te Pappa in Wellington.

In the evening we head to MiTai http://www.mitai.co.nz/ for the Maori cultural show and dinner.  While it is pretty commercialized it is a showcase for some of the traditional Maori dances and songs.  There is a strong movement to pass on the culture to the next generations so there are various competitions that are held. 

John giving me a last minute pep-talk

I get nominated by John to be the “chief” and I must give greetings to a real Maori chief.  As reward/retribution I nominate John to sing a song for the chief.

The pictures speak for themselves! 

Here are some videos from the cultural show:
http://youtu.be/a9YdZg1pTe4

http://youtu.be/KAddmR3m5ns

http://youtu.be/MzOMzn_NWnQ

http://youtu.be/b2kv2avSduI

Putting the offering down for the chief

Giving a "hongi" which is the nose kiss

the chief

He was very proud of his tats

After the show and dinner we take a brief tour in the woods where glowworms are visible in the dark.  We skip the Kiwi tour and head back.

In the morning Roy picks us up for a half day tour.  We start off with a tour of a working sheep farm where we learn about the various types of sheep, shearing and sheepdog herding.

Who knew there were so many different sheep

He was very focused

 We head to the Te Puia  http://www.tepuia.com/ thermal area to visit some of the geysers, mud pools and hot springs…again the pics are better than words.

http://youtu.be/degX46m1iSI Bubbling mud pit

http://youtu.be/fhpFKEGNZgs This geyser shoots 2-3 times per hour

Cooking reeds in a thermal pool

Crafts

This was about 5' tall

There are also authentic craftspeople working on carvings and weavings.

Roy drops us in town and we end up at the Polynesian Spa for a restful afternoon in the hot pools.  here 4 different pools, progressively hotter ending at 107F.  

Exhausted by the heat we catch a cab back to the Black Swan and have some local pizza delivered.

We check out of the Black Swan Inn and Roy picks us up as we are driving to Aukland.  He is taking the scenic route and we drive through rolling hills some farmed and most fenced for cattle or sheep.

Before lunch we arrive at the Waitomo Cave system http://www.waitomo.com/waitomo-glowworm-caves.aspx.  We are scheduled to take a 1-hour tour of this limestone cave which also has glowworms.  

This cave system was the subject of a vigorous “cheating death” debate the night before as there are several tube floats through the cave system.  In the end we didn’t do it because of time constraints and our desire NOT to be confined in some tight spots for extended periods of time, hmmmm. http://www.waitomo.com/black-water-rafting.aspx

The tour was actually interesting, led by a Maori who must have been Danny DaVito’s brother.  Earl/Lannis, the cave system was good but you would have been annoyed by some of the things they did to the cave to make it safer for the tourists…fyi, they put pavers on the cave floor to make it a level surface to walk.

We had a very forgettable lunch at the Roseland Café.  One of the few downsides of using a tour company is that set you up for some places that are absolutely focused on the tourist trade and this was one of them.

Time to head to Auckland and its heavy traffic.  We arrive at the Sofitel shortly before dinner.