6/2/2008 Rotorua, Here We Come!

Finally we were on our way to this town we had heard so much about. Knowing one day was hardly emough to see all it had to offer, we chose wisely. Our first stop was to Te Puia, a Maori Village. We arrived just in time to join the 11 o'clock guided tour. It was very interesting and informative about how the Maori's lived and about their beliefs. It was also home to one of the country's more active geysers...the Pohutu Geyser which erupts 2-3 times an hour and can jet up as high as 60 feet. It is always more active after the rain so we got to see it erupt several times, but only to heights of 30-40 feet. After observing the training at the weaving school and the carving school, we were just in time for the Welcome Ceremony. Of course they needed a male volunteer, and since no one else was willing, Mike stepped forward and became the "chief" to lead us all into the "whare" where the ceremony was held. We were entertained with action songs, female poi dances and traditional stick games and the famous war dance, The Huka (with spears, grunts and scary faces!) After a quick lunch, sandwich for Mike and traditional hungi meal (steamed meat and vegetables cooked in a buried oven) for me, we headed to the Buried Village which was the site of the 1886 volcanic eruption of Mt. Tarawere that buried more than 150 people as well as the Pink and White Terraces (silica and limestone series of steps formed by the geothermal activity) which were known as the 8th Wonder of the World. We couldn't resist the 400m drive to the lookout over the Lake for a beautiful sunset picture.