Rotorua- city of geysers

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Ok, so after we all got up bright and early to make the most of the day, we headed of towards Rotorua. First we stopped at an old gold mine though and walked through the tunnel system and enjoyed some really cool views. The natural beauty of New Zealand is really hard to describe, i am at a loss for words, really. But here is a bit of a try. First of all it is GREEN, rolling hills, mountains, lakes, amazing forests, with subtropical plants, pastures with sheep and cows like you might imagine in England or Ireland, beach fronts that you have seen on postcards from the South Pacific, and soon the snow capped mountains off the glacier country. Well, it is just simply amazing, and although we spend quite a bit of time on our beloved Kiwi bus every day, you just simply cannot beat the scenery when you look out the window.
Anway, that was just a bit of a sidetrack, ok, so once we got to Rotorua, where the smell of sulphur welcomed us, we went on a bit of a Maori tour in one of the local tour houses and bought tickets for our evening dinner and entertainment. We had quite a bit of free time still i in the afternoon, so i walked along the lake front, checked out the New Zealand Waterski Championships that took place this weekend on Lake Rotorua, and enjoyed some of the local sights. The Maori culture and heritage is very prevelant in and around Rotorua, and so the evening hangi (meal in Maori) and concert was something not to be missed. We were driven about 20 km out of town to a rebuilt Maori village, where we were greeted in true Maori fashion with songs, dance, challenge matches between opposing chiefs, and ate a most amazing meal, that was prepared traditionally by steaming the fish, meat, vegetableson hot rocks in the ground. Delicious. The whole show and dinner took about 3.5 hours, so at the end of the night, we just went back to the hostel and crashed for the night.
I had originially wanted to stay an extra day in Rotorua, but i have to admit that i chickened out, since the smell of the sulphur geysers, and hot pools that are all around this town, are really quite strong, and flat out nasty!! So, off on the road again the next morning.

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