Rotorua

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Our stay in Rotorua was short but jammed pack full of activities. We started our trek to Rotorua with a stop at the Karangahake Gorge where walked across a few swing bridges and through some caves. The caves were definitely interesting and a bit of a challenge because we didn't have any lights and couldn't see 6 inches in front of our faces. Our guide told us to stick to the right or there was a danger of falling down an old mine shaft (it used to be a gold mine). Then we got to the next cave and he said walk exactly 7 metres then turn right or we'd fall to our deaths. Not very reassuring, let me tell you that.
In Rotorua we went to Te Puia, the geothermal park and saw some geysers. There was also a little house with a kiwi bird in it but it just looked like a blob, the room was too dark to see much cause they're nocturnal. We went luging after that, which was super awesome, and then had to quickly check into our hostel so we could run to our next activity: a Maori cultural evening, which was singing, dancing, and a buffet dinner. As he was driving home the bus driver decided to do several laps around a roundabout for no reason which was funny at the time... Anyways, it was a pretty full day, but lots of fun!
-Lindsay and Carole

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Photos

Matamata
We stopped here for lunch on our way to Rotorua

Maorir village
This is how they cooked our food...underground