Feed the sparrows

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Sparrows, you see, are very very cute. The seagulls, on the other hand, are evil. They will steal the crumbs from the sparrows. So make sure you throw them very close to the sparrows...

I have just moved on from Rotorua, home to large numbers of both the above species of birds, along with the glorious eggy smell which originates from the area's massive geothermal underbelly. It is, I am fairly sure, one of the few places in the world where you can break wind and recieve no complaint. Wherever you are, the sulphorous smell generally surfaces at some point or another.

I spent a few days in the town, and managed to get plenty done (a little too much perhaps; I am pretty sure I'm overspending...). On the first day I visited the Wai-O-Taupo Thermal park. It rained. Rain seems to be the general theme for my trip at the moment. I go somewhere. It rains.

Regardless of the rain, the park was pretty cool, dotted all over with signs that things below the surface were far from stable. The numerous craters and the landscape streaked with colourful chemical discharges gave the area an other-worldly feel. Throw in a few luminous lakes and bubbling mudpools, and the result is an instant Star Trek set.

The area has calmed down lately, but in the past, it was apparently a pretty racey place to call your home. Only one geyser remains, and I witnessed it being gently coaxed into activity as a park ranger poured soap powder down its spout.

The next day I went to a 'Maori cultural experience'. The Maori are New Zealand's indigenous people, arriving in the country quite a bit before us Europeans. The evening, a full on tourist event, included a performance of songs, dances, along with their local Huka (an example of which can be seen before the All Blacks play).

This was followed by a tasty feast - I have not eaten so much in a long time, and my belly hurt for the rest of the night. The evening was rounded off by a walk through the woods - our guide showing us what the Maori traditionally used various trees and plants for. The surround bushes were dotted with glowworms, and it was easy to forget that we were only five minutes from the centre of town, and only fifty metres from a main road.

On my final day in town, I went white water rafting on a grade 5 river (highest rafting grade), which contains the HIGHEST COMMERCIALLY RAFTED WATERFALL IN THE WORLD! Oh yeah! Who knew I was this extreme?

As is often the case with these things, the buildup is far more scary than the actual event. As we waited at the top of the waterfall (and believe me, when you are about to float over the edge, five metres is a big drop), the anticipation was high, especially since the previous two rafts that day had both flipped over and deposited their occupants in the turbulent water. Largely due to luck, our raft stayed the right way up, but did, as the photos prove, disappear entirely under the surface of the river.

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