Rotorua Maori Cultural Center and Geo Thermals...and Final Farewell to NZ

With spirits soaring and my feet back on the ground Kaija and I headed north to Rotorua home to a Maori Cultural Centre and our chance to see traditional indigenous Maori in their natural habitat.  We were picked up and driven to Tamaki Maori village to share in the Powhiri-the ancient ceremony before entering the village. The activities of the village included facial tattooing, carvings, and demonstrations of how food was cooked. This was followed by an incredible evening feast in the ancestral meeting house where we were entertained with a powerful cultural performance including action songs, poi, stick games, and the world famous 'Haka'-Maori War dance.

 

 We also visited a natural Geo Thermal site and had a walkabout. It was somewhat akin to taking a stroll on an imaginary Mars landscape with steaming craters and hot pools of mud spitting high into the air which had that lovely sulfuric aroma…lol. 

 

It seemed we were just hitting our stride and really enjoying our New Zealand Adventure when lo and behold…Our time was up…and while we very much enjoyed our 2 months in New Zealand we regret that we only had 2 months.  

We accomplished our goal of driving from the top to the bottom of New Zealand and seeing as many places along the way as time permitted.
 We can easily recommend that if you are planning a visit to this remarkable country and want to see as much as possible at a slightly easier pace…spend at least 3 months…chances are you may never be that way again.

Or as our good sailing buddy and New Zealander Murray Clarke would say…”North Island is terrific…south is good too…if you like sheep and people come see for yourself.”  Wow, I should have just printed that and saved you all the misery of reading all that stuff I wrote.

Pic of map

We returned our Trusty Tiny tin Tent, said our fond farewells to new friends met and made our way back to the airport for our return flight to Sydney and short train trek back to Pittwater and our beloved SS KaijaSong.