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Published: March 7th 2009
14/2/09 = A Haircut and a Hangi.
Had a much better sleep in today and practically had to force self out of bed at 8:45 so didn't miss free breakfast, which presumed finished at 9. Slept better because so cold had to snuggle up in duvet and still really cold this morning; hence the trouble getting out of bed. Clambered out anyway, only to be confused by sign next to breakfast saying "Breakfast $3". How can it be free one day and not the next? Re-read it a few times (had just woken up), then went to ask lady on reception what the deal was. Turns out, she was only working there for a day to help her friends out and she didn't really know whether it was free or not. She told us to help ourselves anyway and so we did 😊. Had breakfast, played a little game of connect 4, then went to get ready for the big day = Haircut day! Yeh! Booked appointments yesterday for 11am and could hardly contain excitement. In no way is that mockery...been 4 and half months since had a haircut and my shaggy mane looked more than unkempt, it looked gross.
Didn't care what hairdresser did to it, because was no way it could get worse. Got washed, dressed, ready, then practically skipped into town.
Deb took first appointment because she has more hair and takes longer than me, then I went second. Had a really nice lady and told her to do whatever she wanted as long as I could still tie it up. She took one look at my hair and agreed...situation was desperate. All could do then was cross fingers and pray she could do it as good as Michelle (although no-one will ever do it as good as you my lovely x). Filled with joy as saw ends getting hacked off and she actually did a pretty good job. Not too short, but definitely healthier looking. Happily paid $52 and walked back to hostel feeling lighter and slightly less grotty. Grabbed fruit, then headed off for next part of day = Kuirau Park. Kuirau Park = place with boiling mud and water oozing and steaming from ground and also one of reasons Rotorua smells so bad, which by the way, it really does! Just got used to it. Only a short walk to park and really
pleased to find a mini market on when we got there. Beautiful sunny day = perfect for the park and made even better with market. Quick look round and decided to celebrate new hairdo with a chocolate pancake. Well, it would be rude not to. Was a lovely chocolate pancake with banana, chocolate sauce and cream. Was so thick it was like eating a giant cake. Beautiful. Pancake lady even gave me a heart shape marshmellow to celebrate Valentines Day, which had been trying to pretend was not happening. Grateful for marshmellow though...only valentines gift I'll get this year 😞. Felt a pang of sadness for all of 3seconds, then gobbled down some pancake and instantly forgot about it again 😊 Oh, the power of dessert.
Ate pancake and had a wonder around park (which was particularly smelly). Found hot pools first and went to dip feet in. Water was really hot; actually too hot to sit in for long. Cool that they have built pools to just chill in though. Then carried on and saw ponds of boiling/steaming water. Looked really cool; just like something you would see in a horror movie. All ponds (ponds not the right
word somehow...more like mini lakes) were fenced off because water from ground literally boiling...hence the steam. Thought they were good, but the boiling mud was even better. Couldn't tell it was mud at first because it shot so much steam up, that couldn't even see the ground and what was causing it. When wind cleared steam a little, could see mud bubbling in ground; just reminded me of a witches cauldron. Awesome!
Looked at all the boiling lakes and the bubbling mud, then headed to the 'normal' bit of the park, normal meaning grass and flowers. Crazy to think that boiling lakes and bubbling mud are just part of a normal park in NZ...just as normal as the few remaining ducks in 'Normy' park. Crazy. Sat on grass in sun for a while, chatting and chilling. Had 2 T-shirts and a jumper on this morning because was so cold, now just few hours later, was slapping suncream over already burning legs! Sat for around 30mins, then started our Lake walk. Walked out of park and along road, when looked back and noticed masses of steam teaming out of park. Was in a part of park that we hadn't been
to, so had to cross over road and see what it was. It looked awesome even from a distance and when we got closer, it was awesome! All could see were layers and layers of thick steam rising up from what was easily biggest lake so far. Steam was so thick and rose so high that it nearly completely blotted out the mountains behind it. Walked over the boardwalk and as Deb walked in front a couple of metres, she disappeared in the steam too. Really was amazing. Looked at in awe for a little while, then got back onto Lake road and continued walk.
Lake Rotorua was really pretty and the more we walked round it, the more the view seemed to change. At Sulphur point, the water was a thick, white, milky colour. There were black swans swimming at all points around it (which seem to be more common than white swans here) and the strip of sand that ran alongside the lake was really nice too. All this with of course the usual mountains in the background; v.pretty. Did have some v.smelly points too though. Deb found these parts quite tough; worryingly...I seem to be getting
used to it! Took 40mins and arrived back at hostel at 3:30. Had an hour to chill and get sorted, then set off for Culture show at 4:30. Only had to walk 2mins down road to get to show office; checked in, signed forms and then sat down waiting for bus driver. Really excited for show, but even more excited for Hangi. Bus was on time and as we got on, we were named the Weka Tribe. Was a short journey to Maori village and as we drove, guide told us all about what was coming. She also chose a chief for our tribe which turned out to be some poor young guy from England...Birmingham to be precise. He really didn't look comfortable with choice!
Got off bus 10mins later and congregated in entrance to village, waiting for all other coaches to come. When they did arrive, the 3 chiefs from all the tribes/buses stood forward and there was a traditional challenge (a wero), just like what we saw in the Waitangi show. The warriors approached the chiefs one by one with their threatening moves, offered a token and the chiefs picked them up. Then the ladies of the
Steaming rocks
Hard to see, but there was even steam coming out of this mound of rocks.Maori tribe sung out and we all got to enter the village. Inside, it reminded me of Hullgate a bit (a place we visited on a school trip as a child) in that there were lots of huts and houses that had been constructed, with people dressed up inside them and busy doing a job. Got to visit the huts and ask about the jobs they were doing and why. Would have been really good, but after literally 3mins, we all got ushered out of village and had to go and watch show. Why bother building a village if you aren't going to let people look around it? Was really disappointing, because it looked really good.
Bustled through to ancestral meeting house = place where show was being held (again, like Waitangi show). Lady guide told us a bit about house and how it was believed to be made from the body of the head chief of the tribe. The main line of the roof was the chiefs backbone, the sides were his ribcage and there was a statue type image of a god outside. Quite interesting. Headed inside then and got a seat ready for the show (didn't
Hot pool
Smelly, but hot. have to remove shoes for this one). Show was v.different to Waitangi show and was telling a completely different story. Was supposed to be about how guns (muskets) were first introduced to the Maori people by a Maori man named Te Ao Hari because he wanted to gain more power and control over land. Was done in a similar way through song and dance, but to be honest, was nowhere near as good as Waitangi show. Actors were not as good, the story wasn't as interesting and it just wasn't done in as much of an entertaining way. Only lasted 20mins though, then was time for dinner = main part of evening. Got really excited and hurried way over to dining hall.
Managed to get a really good seat in dinner hall, but was v.suprised to see that dinner was already all set out on buffet style tables. Another disappointing thing; had thought we would get to see it brought out of ground. Had to go and get food table by table and was just starting to get even more disappointed when lady came over and told us that our table was first....yessssss! Shiftied my way up and checked
out the spread...looked great. Loads of meat, loads of veg and even some gravy. Looked just like a tasty sunday dinner waiting to be plated up. Grabbed my plate and did just that. Got some of every meat going (lamb, chicken and fish), some tasty looking potatoes, crammed on some veg in the space remaining and poured on loads of gravy. Only got better when saw stuffing at end of table...stuffing! Haven't seen that stuff for...well...5months! Delicious. Scurried back to table and started mission of ploughing through all food. Really did have alot on plate; noticed the usual glances from people who didn't know me and didn't think me capable of eating that much. Set to work. Meat good, potatoes good, carrots suprisingly good, gravy really good, stuffing amazingly good. Got to admit, it was a challenge, but I squashed all that food in nicely. Yum! Just starting to look really smug and a little cocky when noticed people heading over to another buffet table. Peered over and....oh no...a dessert buffet table. I did not see that one coming! A whole table full of desserts and my belly so full that belt buckle loosened onto last notch. Oh no! People
from my table started heading up and decided I would not be beaten by a dessert table. Loosened belt all way and waddled up. Everything looked so tasty...how could I have not noticed this earlier? Eyed up the fruit pudding, then plonked a generous helping in my bowl, lathered him in custard and waddled back to table for job no.2. Was hard work, really hard work, but squeezed him in. He was tasty, but also a little painful. People started going up for seconds. Oh no...should I be going up too? Had no more belt left to loosen. Don't know how it happened, but joined the queue again and ended up getting some of the tasty meringue. Got the smallest portion possible and yes he was tasty, but definitely mostly just painful. Am sure that stretch marks formed on belly as crushed him in. That was it. I was definitely done. Could hardly fit oxygen in, let alone more food. People wondered up and helped themselves to hot drinks, but I didn't even consider it...no room for liquid left in my body! Sat there, beached for a while. Maybe should call for crane to lift me out...like that man on
Jerry Springer.
Lady started talking then and disrupted my thoughts of being airlifted out; it was time to go and watch how Hangi meal was prepared. Trundled outside with my oversized belly and into freezing cold. Couldn't believe how cold it was and we all headed for bonfire that had been lit. Had to leave comfort of fire though and huddle round the hole in the ground, where she explained how hangi meal was done. Was feeling a little delusional at time because think food actually infected brain, but this is what remember about how to make a hangi meal, hangi meaning food that is cooked in the ground:
1) Dig a square hole with sides 70cm long and a 70cm depth (suppose that's a cube really)
2) Collect volcanic rocks from your nearest volcano, then heat them up until they are glowing white
3) Put the rocks into your hole
4) Place ALL of your food (anything you want to warm up...even custard and gravy) into separate whicker baskets and on top of the stones. Food that will take longest to cook (i.e. meat) should be placed at the bottom.
5) Cover your hole with hessian material, so
that the heat will be trapped and the food cooked in the style of a pressure cooker.
6) Check hourly and consume when ready 😊. That sized hole should feed 80people.
Really interesting and she said you could even do it in your back garden...although not quite sure where the volcanic rocks would come from!?! As soon as demonstration finished, rushed back into dining hall to get out of cold. Am using the word rushed, but with a belly weighing at least 20pounds, was more like a saunter at best. People drunk more tea, I did more deep breathing, then 10mins later, headed back outside to finish evening, which was finished in the traditional way...through song! Stood round fire and as busdrivers started singing, we all joined in too. Was the song 'You are my Sunshine', which reminded me of Mum straight away, because remember she used to sing that song alot to me as a child. Love you Mum x They sung it in English, then in Maori (which did my best to hum along to). Then they did the Haka for us. They even made the poor chiefs get up and do it too...v.funny. Evening over then and
back to bus for journey home. Had thought was all over, but then bus driver insisted " you need to close up your cultural experience" by all singing our national anthems. Was o.k. for us because so many British people on bus, but felt really sorry for some people, like the person from Belgium, because he made them sing on their own. Some people really didn't want to do and am not suprised, but he pretty much made them do it. Poor guys.
Got back to hostel after all national anthems imaginable and ready to go straight to bed and let newly founded stretch marks rest. Internet full anyway, so waddled into bed at 9:30 and collapsed out on back. Hope belly somehow back to normal size in morning...can't see my feet. Ha!
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