The Journey Begins...

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Ok, so today I started my journey around New Zealand. I left Auckland and travelled through Waitomo to end up in Rotorua (possibly the smelliest place on Earth!) Anyway, before we left Auckland we went up to Mount Eden- an old Volcano where there are great views of the city. We got into Waitomo (Maori for 'water hole') in the late morning and went on a cave tour. It was great because it was a special tour to see glow worms which live in the caves. We walked around and at the end had a boat ride on the river inside the cave. The whole roof of the cave was alight with the glow of thousands of tiny glow worms. It was pretty cool and looked a bit like a very starry night.

We had lunch and a few of us played some pool. We then made our way to Rotorua where we arrived in the early hours of the evening. I was very excited when we arrived as all the dorms were booked so I got upgraded to a twin for free and didn't end up having to share it with anyone. It was so nice to have my own space and not get stuck with the top bunk! So like I said before Rotorua is the smelliest place I've ever been. The reason being that it has a large amount of geothermal activity. The smell in the air is somewhere between rotten eggs and stale farts and is absolutely revolting. It turned my stomach. So that made me decide to only stay the one night! (I feel I must add that it is a pretty little town with beautiful buildings and views- it is still worth seeing!)

That night I went to a Maori cultural evening. It was a Maori village with various shows and a Hangi feast at the end (Hangi is the traditional Maori food cooked underground on the hot rocks.) It was amazing and so delicious- the best food I've eaten in a while! It was also a buffet too so filled up my belly! I learnt a lot about the Maori culture and way of life as well as what is important to them and the way they look at life which I found really intersting. We saw their weapons, watched dances and songs, including the famous Haka. The evening was great anyway, the best part of my trip so far.

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Photos

View from Mount Eden
Auckland city

The Hangi Feast Buffet
Sooooooo good!