Maori welcoming

Rotorua

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October 29th 2009
We left Mercury Bay at 7.30am, and after a long drive we arrived in a little town called Matamata for a lunch stop. This place was the filming location for Hobbiton in the Lord Of The Rings movie, hence the sign with the Gollum statue! We then headed to our destination, Rotorua, which in my opinion was a bit of a dump. Greeted with heavy rain, the town is built over boiling mudpools and geysers ... 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