We’ve had a really good day today, when I woke up about 9ish the first thing I noticed was the terrible smell. Due to the sulphuric pools the town of Rotorua absolutely stinks and although the evil eggy smells seem to come and go they definitely have come back with a vengeance this morning. Simon goes and buys some bacon and after having bacon sandwiches for breakfast we get in the car and head for town. First stop is the bookshop, having the time to read has been one of the best things about this trip and I have added joining a library to my list of things to do when we get home. As I enjoyed reading Wild Swans so much and also want to reread it again I am going to send it home in a few days and therefore have to swap Ali’s Alex Rider book instead. What I really want to buy is the latest Harry Potter book but we haven’t seen it on sale anywhere so far here.
We pay for a family ticket (57 dollars) for entrance to the Maori Village of Whakarewarewa. Try saying that when you’ve had a few shandies. The entrance price includes a guided tour of the village and a cultural show. The lady who shows us around is called Irenie and is very friendly and welcoming.
The Maori Village is built in a thermal area and the whole village is a mass of steaming holes, geysers, mud pools and hot water pools. Many of the pools are boiling and although it looks tempting to jump in she explains even the water in the bathing areas is upto 60 degrees and has to be cooled using a cold water hose. She shows us the food cooking areas which all have pots of various meals steaming away. In one of the pools is a big bag of corn cobs. Although I’m a bit dubious about trying these due to the stink Irenie assures us the smell doesn’t permeate the food and the steam is in fact good for you. Hmmm! I don’t know about that, how can anything that smells so vile be good for you!
We stand watching the geyser for a little while; it’s very impressive and can at times reach 30 feet into the air. We couldn’t go too close as apparently the NZ government own the land and themselves run guided tours of the area for a lot more money than we have paid. Irenie also shows us the local hall which is used for ceremonies and we have a wander around the souvenir shop.
At 2pm we watch the cultural show. The 8 Maori performers open the show with a traditional welcome and speech and to be honest in the cold drizzly afternoon air it did all seem a little bit strange. To my ignorant eyes it seemed a bit like a cross between a sort of South Pacific Hula and a gospel church worship. When they performed the famous Haka it did make us laugh as it does appear funny but despite this quite impressive and I can imagine very scary if there were more warriors doing it. I’m not too sure of the authenticity of all this and this wasn’t helped by seeing the “Maori Maidens” leaving afterwards in their jeans in a Landrover with their cigarettes in their mouths but despite all that we loved it. It was a great show performed with loads of enthusiasm by a really friendly group of people.