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Published: September 23rd 2008
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Today has been the first day of proper exploring... gone is the safety of Jim and Lynne getting us about... today we were on our own! Oh yeah and Em came along for the ride! We had loads of ideas about what we would do today... but the bird park was closed! We were so looking forward to feeding the tropical birds!! Anyway we decide to head to Rotorua today and call in at some water falls (Okere falls) on the way... Before going to the falls we called in to a coffee shop that was situated just near by and had a coffee (just for a change), a brownie and some cookies!! Yum!! And then we made our way to the falls... but that was no easy thing to do... we headed down a road and turned back cos it didn't look right!!! We walked to the other side of the road which meant dodging jugernaughts and then walked over a little bridge that led to a small hill... it wasn't up there either... we decided to go up the road (more juggernaut dodging) to see if it was up there... but it wasn't!!! But we did find someone to
ask for help and found out that it was down the road we went down in the first place! DOH!!!! So we made it to the falls and they were magnificent, although you couldn't get very close. It was worth the journey!!
We got back in Chloe (the car) and headed to Rotorua, the rotten egg smell started to hit us... This was the sulphur dioxide from the geo-thermal activity in the area as Rotorua is on a volcanic fault line. We headed for Tawhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao.... you got that?? or just whaka!!!! This is a Maori village that is situated on the fault line - you could see the steam from a long way off... it's crazy but amazing!!! There is one tribe that still lives there and they make a living from showing tourists the geo-thermal activity, selling souveneirs and food cooked in ovens which are simply wooden boxes placed over steam vents. We had corn on the cob cooked in a hessian sack in one of the hot pools - it was delicious! They also bathe in the hot water... its totally amazing!! The other interesting fact is seeing how cultures and traditions mix... there are two churches
in the village, Anglican and Catholic, and this is intermingled with Maori culture. The other striking fact is that families choose if there children are brought up as Maori or sent to the traditional secondary school.
We saw a cultural show during our visit and it was fantastic, they did the Haka which is the challenge they lay down at the start of wars (or rugby matches), they also did a lot of other traditional songs and dances. The whole day was great and also very moving, it was fantastic to see that the Maori culture is alive and well!! Thats about it for the moment, hope you enjoy the photos!!
God Bless! R&K xx
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Jen Brown
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:) WOW!!!
Heya it sounds like your having a fab time! The chicken and coconut pizza sounded lush :) Say hi to the Bennets from me. Love Jen xx