Yesterday we left Napier after watching visiting the Marine Wildlife Sanctuary. We drove on up towards Rotorua, and stopped for lunch beside Lake Taupo. Quite a nice drive, though we’re getting tired of it at this stage (2500k done so far in NZ, 1,930 in the South Island).

Our hotel here is Rotorua is right beside a geyser and some mud pools, so the smell of rotten eggs permeates everything. Just what you need! Last night we attended a Hangi (traditional meal) at the Tamaki Maori Village. These are organised tours with dinner etc. and are very well organised, though I have to say I was more than a bit sceptical about it initially. Suffice it to say, we quite enjoyed it, and even managed to murder a few bars of Danny Boy on the way back 🙂

This morning we did some more “culture”, visiting Hells Gate geothermal park (aptly named by George Bernard Shaw). We were just in time for a guided tour which was very informative. I even tried my hand at some carving afterwards. The master craftsmen need not worry.

As it was on the way back, we had a look around the buried village, NZ’s own Pompeii. Once again we were fortunate enough to co-incide with the start of a guided tour, and it made it far more interesting.

And of course the best way to end any day is with some (more) retail therapy. The flexible friend is becoming less and less flexible.

Tomorrow we’ll head off in our Waka to Auckland, and maybe fit in an adrenaline rush or two in along the way.

Kia Ora!

Note: I’m reliably informed that a Waka can apply to any form of transport that isn’t your own two legs, though its original meaning is “canoe”