Rotorua June 17-18

Once arriving in Rotorua, we proceeded towards the information center as weren’t quite sure what to do. We knew the city was a geothermal hotbed, since it was actually in a volcano, but we weren’t sure how to pass our time. We got a quick bite to eat and then ended up deciding to go to the Rotorua Museum. The museum was in the Government Gardens, which is an area known for its geothermal activity. The museum was originally built as a bathhouse. We walked in the rain around the gardens and then ended up going inside. The building is the most photographed building in New Zealand. The main lobby inside was very nice. We looked around and headed to the basement to kill time before a movie started. The basement had low ceilings so we had to wear helmets as we walked around. We saw the pipes that brought the water in from the springs and some of the rooms that people were treated in. Then we headed back upstairs to the movie. Although cheesy, it explained some of the legends of the area. It talked about the time when the New Zealanders first came to the area and the main priest fought an evil warrior. He locked the evil warrior in the ground which was their explanation for all of the steam. It also told the story of a warrior on an island that fell in love with a lady from the mainland. Since their tribes didn’t get along, they were not allowed to see each other. One night, she swam to visit him in the dark with only the sound of his flute to guide her. They also explained how there were many battles over this land since it was very useful to be near the hot springs for heating and cooking. Finally, the movie got into details of the British colonization. In the 1800’s, more and more British came to the area. The locals profited from showing the British around the springs. In the 1880’s, there was an increase in activity. The elders said the gods were mad that the New Zealanders were profiting. In 1886, the volcano erupted, killing 120 people. At this point in the movie, the benches were shaking around to simulate the earthquake that went along with the eruption. The movie ended with the explanation of the rebuilding and the construction of the building we were in during the early 1900s. We went to the roof to see the panoramic view of the city, but it was closed due to weather. Then we saw a few more rooms where treatment was given. We crossed back over to the other half of the museum to see 3 more exhibits. The first was about the volcano, with many more pictures and details. The second was an exhibit about the culture of the locals. They had totem pole like structures and canoes in the building. The final exhibit was about Kiwi soldiers from WW2. They were actually stationed in Egypt and Italy, not the South Pacific.

We headed back to the town to get a power adapter because the three we brought didn’t work here, only in Europe. After a decent walk in the rain, we headed to NB’s for a bit to eat. We were looking at the menu and the owner offered us free beer. We couldn’t turn that down so we headed inside. Ed had a dark local beer with lamb stew and it was very good. Jeanette had a chicken sandwich. Then, since the rain had subsided, we walked to the lakefront and a free geothermal park. They were really nice, but the park was nothing compared to the ones we would see later. We got soaked as it rained more and more. We headed to our hotel, which was a Best Western but not really. It was a local looking place with a nice hot tub, a bushwalk, and a putt putt course (too wet however). We had gotten passes to go on a gondola ride to the top of a hill and then do some luging. It had cleared up, so we got a good view on the way up. The luge was a little plastic cart with a brake that you ride down a fairly big hill. We strapped on our helmets and headed down the intermediate path. Ed flew down, with the cart almost tipping over on several occasions, while Jeanette went nice and slow. We took a chair lift back to the top. The second trip, Ed opted for the advanced track while Jeanette stuck with the easier one. The advance track had much steeper places where you could get some air and some fairly steep banks around turns. We got up to around 20 mph on the way down. We took the chair lift up and the gondola down. The way down was windy and the gondola rocked a bit. We jumped in the hot tub for a few seconds before getting ready for our dinner show at the Tamaki Village.

On the way to our Maori show at Tamaki Village, we were the first people picked up and talked to the bus driver, Darren. He was part of the tribe and was very friendly. We talked about Tiger Woods and all the famous New Zealanders around the world…the richest New Zealander sportsman is actually Tiger Woods caddy. He was very proud of his country. We picked up a guy from Maryland and we talked to him about scuba diving on the way there. After picking up some more people, we had to pick a chief from our bus. The driver picked Ed after no one volunteered. When we arrived, Ed had to learn the traditional greeting, which was shaking hands and then touching noses twice. It seemed very similar to a Wesley Willis head butt. Ed had to stand in the middle with six other chiefs for the peace offering. They instructed everyone that they could not laugh, move, or smile during this portion of the show. Ed stood up there while the four warriors danced with their weapons, stuck out their tongues, bulged their eyes, and made noises. They also danced with fire. After the ceremony, the chiefs led the people inside. We got to look around at a village that showed what the people would do over the course of the day. There was a tent for cooking, sewing, and giving tattoos as well as several others. Then the chiefs had to stand in the front for another ceremony before entering the sacred building. One of the Tamaki women sang as we walked into the building. The chiefs had to get on stage and greet the main singer. We were seated and then they put on a show of dancing that children would have to do to prepare them for weapons training. Then they did a traditional war dance. After that, they used a guitar to show how they are adapting to modern times, but keeping the same songs. They sang the song about the girl that swam to this island following the sounds of the flute. Then we headed into the dining room for dinner. It was a nice buffet with carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes (with a local name like Yamari), stuffing, fish in coconut sauce, chicken, lamb, gravy, mint sauce, salad, pasta salad, and bread. Everything was cooked like a clambake. It was delicious.

After dinner, Darren drove everyone back to their respective hotels. While Darren was driving us home, he had each nationality on the bus sing a song from their home country. All the countries sang a song. When it came to the United States, we all decided to sing, “The Wheels on the Bus”. After pretending to kick us all off the bus, Darren led us in a rousing rendition of “God Bless America”. He also had a lot of fun driving us home, leading us to believe that he may be a little intoxicated…but he wasn’t. He would honk when he got excited and drove around more than one traffic circle multiple times. He was hysterical! After finally reaching home, we fell fast asleep.