We checked into Rotorua day early, as there was no reason to stick around the National Park as there was nothing going on, even the ski hills closed, and we crashed Shaun and Catharine's leaving party, they are off on their own adventures travelling through the States and then moving to the UK.
Shaun and Catharine very kindly offered to be our tour guides for our time in Rotorua, and are we ever glad we took them up on their offer! They are fantastic tour leaders, knowledgable and full of fun! Having locals give a tour is always great, because they know to stop at places, you might not take the time to. We did a little history, with the buried village. It reminded me of Pompeii, but without the stone. Tried some Oz food - flat white and our first pie. Oh my, so good! Looked at lots of colourful things; volcanic wonderlands, coloured lakes, boiling mud. And did a hike up a rainbow mountain, which was nothing for their superhero physique, but the steepness of the hike was challenging enough for me to make the view very rewarding. Everywhere in and around Rotorua is permeated with a lovely sulphur stench which burs the nostrils, due to all the volcanic activity.
Our last night together we enjoyed a "traditional" (parentheses are there because the meal included scalloped potatoes, and lots of desserts that I am not sure are traditional) Maori hangi meal, put on by a family group who runs this event. Delicious meat cooked underground, and all sorts of other delicious foods, the event also included explanations of Maori culture, dancing, singing, weaponry and tattooing. (One guy even showed us his bum tattoos) I found it all fascinating as I have always been drawn to the traditional Maori stories. Our host impressed us by being able to greet 23 different countries represented in all of their languages, amazing! After dinner we did a walk around to see some animals, including kiwis!
I am really impressed by how much of the traditional Maori culture and language is still kept and used so frequently in common culture. It is almost as if the European settlers who came were integrated into the Maori culture, rather than the way it is in so many places that the aboriginals are forcibly required to integrate into the European culture. In my very unknowable sociological guess I think it might have to do with two things; the Maori people being so strong, but also their willingness to adopt and change seems to be what has preserved so much of their heritage.
Well, anyway I am not writing a thesis, so I will end this here
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