Rotorua

singing

showing traditional techniques
women of the village
walking through the village

Welcoming to the meeting house

Maori village

Kiwi Bus
Hobbiton
Pretty information centre in Rotorua
Mud pools
Bubbling pool - ducks were swimming in this!!

One of the ponds
Really stinky pool
Vapour escaping and making the town stink

Day two and we are heading to one of the bigger areas of geo-thermal activity. We stop off in a small town called Matamata. It's the nearest town to the farm that was used to build the set for the Hobbit town. There's not much to do here so we only stop for a quick peek. The afternoon is free for any activities people want to do and some are zorbing, whitewater rafting or sledding down a hill. Unfortunately for me I'm not feeling too well today otherwise i was going to attempt Zorbing. Bit gutted really.

Rorotura is quite a big town. There are spas, mud pools and vents everywhere. Every so often there is a whiff of sulphur to remind you of where you are. The weather is pants which makes getting out in the town and doing stuff more difficult. I went for a walk through the park here to see some of the pools etc. It absolutely stunk. It was really bad. I had to turn around after 10 minutes as i thought i was going to die. Really glad i'm only here for one night. Don't think i could take two!!!

I went to a Maori evening which featured dancing and a feast cooked the traditional way. It was really good. We got to watch a welcoming ceremony where Maori Warriors tried to provoke the designated chef from each bus (thank god it wasnt me). We then walked around a recreation of a Maori village pre-European settlement. The feast was excellent and the fish was really tasty. The evening was brought to a close by a haka performed by the service staff and bus drivers. Really quality night, well worth it. Our driver was really funny and said hello when we first got on the bus in 58 languages! He was half Irish-Half Maori and was getting everyone to sing. He was also good at doing the facial gestures and everyone was clamoring to take photos!.

I'm trying to build myself up to doing a skydive in a few days...I want to try and do as much as i can and its a tandem and so someone basically is strapped to you back for the dive, so that should make it more bearable.....I'm hoping to do it over the Franz Josef glacier...