Is that sulphur we smell? We must be in Rotorua

Day 3-5: Rotorua

Having had a taste of adventure in the Waitomo caves, we headed for nearby Rotorua which was about two hours drive away. Rotorua is in the middle of the volcanic triangle on the North Island - an area with many various, active volcanoes. You know you have arrived when you smell sulphur in the air and see steam coming out of the ground! Geysers, bubbling mud pools, sulphuric mineral baths are here aplenty. There are also lots of touristy activity sites such as Maori villages and sheep-shearing farms that have built up. Rotorua saw its fair share of tourists so there were great accommodation options - we went for the cheap option here - since there were motel rooms going for NZ$70 per night.

We stayed at the Rob Roy Motel - it has not been redecorated since it opened in the 70's but the rooms were large and clean with a kitchenette. The owners were fantastic, really friendly - they gave us good suggestions as to where to go. And best of all, only the old motels could have their own hot springs! Each day, the motel pumps up the too hot thermal water from the local spring and add in cold water to create two soothing baths with a slight smell of sulphur. Very relaxing after a long day of sightseeing...Not surprisingly, newer hotels were not given permission to create their own hot springs.

On our first night in Roturua, we bought tickets to the Tamaki Maori Village feast. A coach picks you up at your motel and during the journey to the Maori village, the Maori driver takes you through customs and etiquette for the feast. First off, he names the "tribe" a.k.a. the coachload of passengers. We are the "Wika Woka" tribe which means "walk, canoe". Then, we need a chief to represent the tribe. The driver optimistically asks for volunteers otherwise he will have to pick someone - the selection criteria is that the chief must be male, brave, intelligent etc. No one volunteers at first but after a few seconds, Paul puts his hand up! He didn't even consult me - I guess he really wanted the job. Fittingly, he was wearing his "GOD" sweatshirt (those of you familar with the HK lifestyle store). The Maori driver was delighted - when we arrived at the Maori village, there was a small ceremony where Paul was inducted as chief (they rubbed noses).

And then, it was off to the "marae" for the peace challenge. The chiefs stood in the middle of the arena and one by one, warriors from the village came out to challenge them, trying to intimidate them by showing off their fighting prowess. The trick here is not to react, absolutely no laughter, imitation or acting scared. After they deemed the chiefs worthy, they placed a leaf as a peace offering on the floor. When the leaf was picked up, we were welcomed into the village.

Inside the village, we could walk around and see different activities - how they cook, weave, make weapons etc. Then, we all went into the meeting house where there performed songs, poi twirling and dances such as the impressive haka. The chiefs were the guests of honor so got front row seats! Unfortunately, being the chief's wife does not have such privileges and I had to sit with the masses several rows back.

Then, it was feast time - the "hangi". This is a traditional method of cooking whereby they place heated rocks in a pit dug in the ground and then put baskets of meat, vegetables and pudding directly on top of the rocks. Cloth, hessian and earth then cover the food and cook for 3-4 hours. The food was laid out in a buffet spread - lots to eat even for vegetarians and the traditional NZ dessert pavlova was delicious!

The whole event finished with the closing ceremony where Paul was given a tiki necklace for his efforts and of course, visits to the prerequisite on-site souvenir shops.

Second day in Roturua and we woke up early, heading out to the Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland park. Here, you can see the geysers erupting, walk around the hot bubbling pools - some were bright lime, red, green or yellow depending on the minerals. The picture above shows the famous Champagne pool - clear blue with a rust colored edge. All of these pools are far too hot for fingers! Sulphur smell particularly strong here.

Next day - some serious hiking at Tongariro National Park!