Being welcomed to the Maori village

Hakas, Rastas, and Boiling Mud Pools: Welcome to Rotorua

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February 9th 2009
As if being situated just a few hundred meters above boiling lava wasn't hot enough, the day I rolled into Rotorua, temperatures hit a scorching 40C. Rotorua is the hot spot (literally) for thermal activity in New Zealand, emmiting that wonderful (gag) rotten egg sulfur smell, which I started to get wind of when I was still 16km away. Despite the smell, Rotorua offers every kind of bathing you c ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Rotorua

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The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year... ... read more