Today I could finally have some kind of lie in as we weren't leaving until 9, which meant I didn't wake up until just before 8. The guy next to me in my twin room was obviously having a good dream though as he was bouncing on the bed, although I eventually woke him up as it was really funny. My problem this morning was that my neck was aching like hell probably due to the caving, although I had a solution in the form of my tiger balm which did the trick just nicely! After once again packing my bag, something I just know inside out, I got onto our bus ready for the next leg of our journey to Rotorua. Its funny when boarding these buses though because its all about getting the front seats so you can book onto things first!
After leaving Waitomo, we stopped off at the small town of Otorohanga en route which our driver described as a free WiFi stop. It was in fact his old home and he told us about the old times when McDonalds came to town, the biggest thing he claims to have happened to Otorohanga! We then continued along the roads, where I have just lost my bearings, to Hobbiton. We had the option to have a tour here which is where the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit were filmed. I opted against it however as it was very expensive and I felt I wouldn't really connect with it all. It was nice though because we could look round the front concourse and see some of the scenic views, although they meant nothing to me!
It was then one last push for Roturua, where we were greeted with a horrible stench of fart like smells. Roturua also lies on a volcanic rift which means the crust is thin. This also means there are loads of holes and stuff in the ground which emit sulphur, hence stinking the place out. After a quick look round the small city, although it was more like a town, we stopped off at the Tamaki Maori tour centre where I had booked myself onto a culture tour to learn about the Maori culture. This was scheduled to take place this evening, so after paying up we headed to the hostel.
After checking into another base hostel which was adequate lets say, I headed off into Roturua for an afternoon of geocaching. There was the option yesterday of an array activities including luging, zorbing, white water rafting and bungy to name a few, but I opted against them mainly because I pass back through Roturua back up to Auckland, but also because some of these activities run elsewhere. I will assess my money situation when if I return in late April!
I had written down a few geocaches back in Otorohanga based on the green areas near the hostel. This resulted in me heading up to government gardens which was basically a golf course and an old Victorian house. It also had a nice boardwalk beside Lake Roturua which was literally steaming in places and stunk of eggs from the sulphur. There were also cracking views over the lake along with abundant bird life. It was all very relaxing. It was here I found 4 caches in all. I then continued into town where after finding a couple more caches I got a taste of the large array of shops and restaurants which all looked really modern. For my final two finds it was into the city park where there were all these pools fenced off emitting lots of steam. Although it stunk they were so fascinating, and I liked seeing the bubbling mud in one of them which just plopped! All in all I got a brilliant taster of the main town area, finding eight caches in all.
When returning to the hostel, I headed back into town to the supermarket which was just out of town. There were actually 3 supermarkets here, and so many other warehouse stores, although I found the local burger king which is so cheap in NZ, and also has the best free WiFi! After having a good look round the shops, I headed back to the hostel to relax and write my blog, which I think I have finally got on top of. I then got ready for this Maori village visit which I really don't know what to expect!
Getting picked up at 7, our native Maori driver was giving us a language lesson on the "Waka" (bus). My Maori phrasebook goes as far as Kia Ora which literally means good health, and Aye which means yes! When arriving we waited outside the village, and our buses chief who we nominated stood in the middle. Before long other bus loads of people arrived and there were eventually 4 chiefs. We were then confronted with all these Maori people who performed a Te Wero, the welcoming ceremony to decide if we were friend or foe. It was hard to keep a straight face as these people jumped around with their tongues and eyes out, before finally inviting us into their village.
When in the village we did an array of things such as the agility challenge where we had to jump round this ladder. I also got selected as a guy to perform the haka, a male only dance they do before battle. It was embarrassing being on my knees sticking my tongue out! The girls then had their chance doing a dance whilst twirling these balls. The next stop was the woodwork house where we learned about Maori carvings, before moving onto a game where they said left or right in Maori where you held a stick and had to run that direction to the next stick without it falling over. The final house was the arts and crafts where we learned about weaving. The whole setting was so professional with fires, houses finished to the last detail and people all in proper dress with face paints and everything.
After leaving the village we visited the wharenui where where we were treated to show including songs, dancing, acting and most of all the haka which was really impressive! We then visited the Hangi which was the oven where they cooked our dinner. It was basically cooked underground on hot rocks in these big basket things. It was pretty impressive when they lifted them! It was then finally time for dinner which was an all you can you hangi feast consisting of lamb, chicken, the most amazing stuffing, carrots, potatoes, and these weird vegetable things. There was also fish and mussels available. After two plates full of this I moved onto dessert which was pavlova and was a different class from back home!
The whole evening was so well organised and it is really hard to explain it because there were so many Maori terms and traditions we saw throughout the evening! To finish a closing speech was performed and then a final haka, although I didn't join in as I felt stuffed! We then headed back onto the bus where we had songs to represent each country. The most impressive was the Dutch pair doing the national anthem with their eyes closed and hands on their chest! When finally arriving at the hostel, I laid straight down telling everyone in my room what they had missed out on! The light then swiftly went out as it was quite a long evening!
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