Oct 26th – 28th – Rotorua is the centre of Maori culture and just about everyone who visits New Zealand makes their way to Rotorua eventually. On our way into town we found this Zorbing site and thought we might try it, but given that my back is acting up we decided to act our age and pass.

The centre of the city is Lake Rotorua surrounded by sulphur-rich thermal hot springs, geysers and mud pools. The smell is certainly noticeable as you enter town. We took a short afternoon drive around the lake to get our bearings.

On Sunday we had a most unique experience at the Rotorua Baptist Church. The pastor is a quadriplegic and had only had very minute movement in his hands. He was an excellent preacher and greeted us warmly after the service. He shares the pastorate with another individual so presumably all responsibilities can be covered. In the afternoon we went to the museum and again received a pleasant surprise. It was national choir day and so we enjoyed two presentations in the rotunda. All in the April Evening brought back memories of Peter Bruce.

Our big event was going to Te Puia for the Maori Cultural Experience. We began with a guided tour of the village, the Pohutu Geyser, the weaving school and the carving school. Following the tour we were welcomed by the Maori Chief and invited to enter the meeting house for a cultural performance. This was a display of music, song, dance and some other fun activities that included audience participation. Dinner was a buffet which included traditional hangi-cooked food and contemporary Maori dishes.

Hangi cooking is usually done in a thermal pool but given the size of the group, our dinner was cooked in a pit using hot stones. Beef, chicken, lamb, pork, potatoes, sweet potatoes and stuffing were all included in the same pit. Because it’s slow roasted the meat was very tender. A delicious meal!

After dinner, they took us back out to see the geyser at night. Sitting on the hot thermal rocks we heard more stories of the Maori people and drank hot chocolate. Some of us had to move after a while because the rocks were just too hot!