Heading South

It is Monday June 18 at 10:50 am

Sorry about the long time between blogs. We found that our last two hotels were not Internet free. I will try and give you a run down of the trip so far.

On Thursday June 14th we headed south from Auckland to Rotorua. Our coachman, Peter, gave us a wonderful commentary as we drown through the hills and valleys. We stopped for tea in the farming province of Waikato. Stopping for "Tea" seems to be the standard term for "Potty Breaks". I'm sure that these little towns try to get contracts with touring buses. This particular tea stop was at the spot where a fierce battle between the Maori and English. Maori won this battle. It was just the 4 us until we stopped at the Waitomo Caves.

These caves have a glow worm that hangs from the ceiling of the caves. They glow to attract insects to their sticky treads. We walked down the Cathedral Room. It is a large room that often holds concerts and weddings. We took a boat into the darkest part of the cave to see the glowing warms. They were like stars. We were lucky to see the caves. The rain had risen the river too high for boats to pass.

We continued our coach tour through Lake Karapiro and the Fitzgerald Glade.

We arrived in Rotorua about 4:30 p.m. We stayed at the Heritage Hotel. I was glad to have more than one day in the room. I was able to go through my suitcase and put things in the drawers.

We were picked up at 6:00 by coach to the Tamaki Maori Village for a Hangi and Concert. Our driver picked up other travelers along the way. He was a Maori man who did commentary and jokes with us. Each tour bus had a "Chief". The chief was invited to the feast. 4 different warriors came out and did a intimidation dance. The Te Wero. It was a "challenge" to see if our chief would break. Once we were welcomed, Pohiri, into the village we toured around an enclosure to that was a mock up of a village. The show was wonderful.
The Waikato and Haka is a performance that had the Maori introducing songs, dancing, chants and weapons. It was a good way to introduce the Maori Culture to us Gringos. We didn't get to eat until 8:30 and we didn't get back to the hotel until 10:30. A long day.

June 15
Another coach picks us up. The first stop was the coachman showing us where his village was. It was just behind our hotel and his clan did the Waikato and Haka hotel at the hotel. He then took us to Te Puia Thermal Reserve. Rotorua is literally steaming everywhere. This particular spot is set up to show the geysers and the boiling mudpools.
It is also the site of the Maori Arts and Crafts Institutes.
They train students from all 7 clans weaving and carving. Master carvers must know all 7 clans' designs.I have more to say but I'm paying $2.50 and hour. I've typed over an hour. I'll be back with more postings.