Would they even begin to believe in Tolkien”s world where nasty, evil creatures approach out of thick, sulphurous fog to drag you away have their wicked way with you? Well I would.
Welcome to Rotorua and to the park in the middle of the town with its mud pools, bubbling ponds and strange sulphurous smell that pervades everywhere and everything.
Rotorua is a great place, very tourist orientated and the gateway to many, many activities from paragliding to mountain biking. We did none of that, thank you very much, we went for the cultural activities. Rotorua is called the Rota Vegas in NZ, it it shares many of the same characteristics with long roads of shops, bars and restaurants but it is much, much more manageable. The cultural entertainment is mostly along the same Vegas lines but we chose the most authentic we could find and spent the morning in a working Maori Village called Whakarewarewa where the peoples of the local tribes have loved for centuries.
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This is the village’s kitchen where they cook in a thermal pool. They do! -
If you would like to see the geyser in action there is a short video here:
Although it was as authentic as it could be if your goal is to generate tourist income for your people we also had the obligatory performance with the Haka at the end:
If you would like to see a very edited version then go to this link:
Our guide, Wendy’s new bestie, was brought up in the village and lives there with all of her extended family.
All in all it was a fascinating glimpse into Maori life but I suspect we will probably visit a few more villages.
To Middle Earth and Beyond 