And headed out for the afternoon to explore. Rotorua is a geo thermal hotspot , with geysers and hot pools you can visit (slightly out of the city) but just a stones throw from the hostel was Lake Rotorua, a massive thermal lake with bubbling springs and sulphur tinged water. The close proximity means it didn't half smell! The rotting egg smell follows you around the streets, a little too much to handle at times after our evening of champagne.
so smelly !!
We clambered over sulphur coloured rocks. Steam being emitted all over the shop.
Amy across the stink
The water was so hot! (I'm not sure you were supposed to put your finger in)
Covered by all the steam! there were bizarre pools of bubbling mud, they made sound effects like bodily functions!!
We headed to the supermarket to get food for dinner (we're on a detox). And afterwards decided to head to the Polynesian spa to float around in the thermal pools.
The pools look out over lake Rotorua, really cool views, but a really bad smell!
We stayed until the moon rose and tried out all the temperatures. We decided we're not the best people to hang aboht in really hot baths but it was definitely a cool experience
Nothing like anything we've done before
This next morning we had booked to do white water rafting. Amy has always wanted to do it but I'm far more chicken and had never even considered it! She's a good influence on me tho as I signed up too. We had a very British breakfast of porridge and banana (to warm us up!) before heading out to be picked up by the rafting crew.
We only had to wait a couple of minutes (I only had a few minutes to back out!) before the bus came to take us out the the airport (where the hanger they operate out of is). We got there to be given a fleece, wetsuit, splash jacket, helmet, booties and a paddle. It was a struggle getting the kit on and we both felt like robots walking out to the bus. On the bus we received a terrifying safety talk that even made Amy question her decision. We were told what to do if we ended up at the bottom of the 7m waterfall out of the boat. What to do if we flipped upside down, essentially how not to die!
Once we got there we realised the kit kept us relatively warm but the water was in fact freezing. We jumped into the boat and were taught the important paddle commands. We paddled down the river amongst some amazing scenery and tried desperately to understand whether our kiwi instructor Neville was saying stop or forward! We went down 3 waterfalls in total, the last one was a 7m drop. We didn't flip, thank goodness but we both got a massive mouthful of water and were absolutely soaked in freezing river water. Neville made Amy sit on the front of the boat wih her feet over the edge. She did it like a trooper however did fall backwards in a ball a couple of times! We made it to the end unscathed and it was SO COOL!!
This evening we went to a Maori cultural experience. It was in Tamaki village, a tribal village that has opened itself up to tourists to give them an insight into Maori life. We were transported there on a bus with around 50 other people to be greeted by a welcome performance. They performed some traditional movements to reflect the sights and sound of the creatures and insects in the forest. This involved some funny facial expressions but on the bus we were asked to refrain from smiling, talkingn and laughing at all times (really difficult when you've been told not to!).
We watched a Haka, watched the women of the village demonstrate Poi, - a traditonal technique of moving balls on the end of string to strengthen forearms so they were more able to manufacture the weapons used by the Maori warriors. We saw how they weave bags (similar to the ones made for us by Sheila in vanuatu) and learnt how they used to tattoo with albatross bone and ink.
The men talking about the Haka
Two Aussies and the Maoris performing the Haka
We were then taken to where they cook the hangi, the traditional feast made for special occasions. It's cooked underground and consists of meats, kumala, potatoes and vegetables. It all smelt fantastic but before we could eat there was an evenings entertainment in store in the 'meeting house'. The Tamaki people all performed a number of songs including some more modern songs with a guitar, they told us traditional stories and performed a Haka at the end. It was so great! They sung with such passion and you genuinely felt like they enjoyed what they do!
We were then taken to the buffet Hangi meal, the food was really delicious and there was so much of it. It's safe to say we definitely got our monies worth!
We would definitely recommend the Tamaki experience. It's not something we would've necessarily done if it hadn't have been recommended so highly by friends. We thought it'd be very touristy and not a true representation but actually it gave us a really good insight, not to mention the delicious meal you got as well!
Tomorrow we're off to Wai-o-tapu thermal reserve and for a walk to the redwoods forest in the afternoon!
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