Rotorua and the Hangi

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Rotorua is the capital of all things cultural in NZ and the centre of information for anything Maori. When entering the town you immediately become aware of the stench of rotten eggs and after looking around everyone on the bus in suspicion we were informed that it was the smell of sulfur from the geothermal activity in this area that has made it a popular tourist destination. The huge dormant volcano towering over Rotorua has made the many bubbling mud pools and geysers available in this area.
If you visit here you cant leave without attending a traditional Maori Hangi or feast. We toured round a local village, learned about the history to present day Maori traditions and we entertained by the singing, dancing and storytelling. The Hangi meal including chicken, meat, potatoes etc is buried underground and hot coals are place on top basically creating an underground oven. Once dug up the end result definitely has a distinctive taste that many (inc. us) weren't exactly a fan of but we ate it none the less.

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