Volcanoes

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After spending some time in Hobbiton, I made my through the middle of the North Island to Rotorua. Rotorua is considered the epicenter for the Mauri people. As previously mentioned, the Mauri are the indigenous people to New Zealand. Their language and culture is very similar to other Oceania people ( fiji, Hawaii, etc), but since the British showed up, they have fully integrated into Western society.

The first thing I did when I got to Rotorua was soak in hot spring pools. The area is so volcanic, that you can smell the sulfur as you're driving into town. There was a spa I went to with about 5 different pools of varying temperatures. They sat on the edge of a sulfuric lake. A lake so sulfuric in fact, no birds go near it. There's no food (fish) and the temperature is too high.

Afterwords, I drove the to the trailhead for the Tarawera trail, near lake Tarawera. I got up the next morning and hiked this trail. It follows the shores of lake Tarawera for a long while giving some pretty nice views. It's about 7 miles or so with a small amount of elevation gain before you come to hot water beach. This is a small 'beach' on the shores of the lake, where some of the hot spring water mixes with the lake. It makes for a very experience where the water can be very cold in spots, and painfully hot in others. There is also a popular campground here. After spending some time on this beach, I took a water taxi back to my car.

Later that evening, I went to a Hangi (han-gee). This is a traditional Mauri feast, typically done when tribes gather. Back in the day, it comprised of mostly fish and local veggies that have been slow cooked over coals in the ground and buried (think a Luau, but without a pig). Today, it's very commercialized and after a quick tour of some Mauri traditions including looking at a boat, you sit in a theatre to learn traditions of how two tribes would gather, and some typical dances of the people. Afterwords, you are allowed to eat a Hangi. Since the british arrived, a Hangi now a lot of times has lamb, chicken, and some other english traditions. A final specific vegetable called a Kumara (coo-mah-rah) is also served. It's very similar to a sweet potato, but better.

After eating my Hangi, I went to the famous Tongorrio crossing. This is where the scenes for Mordor and Mt. Doom (Mt. Tongorrio) where filmed for Lord of the Rings. The volcano is dormant, but there are still warnings a plenty. This crossing is extremely popular and typically multiple bus loads of people are dropped off at it every day in the summer. Many people also do what I did, and park at one side of the trail, take a bus to other side, and hike back to their cars. The trail is about 19km, and has a bit of elevation gain. As you hit the top of the crossing, you can really smell the sulfur, but also see two very pretty lakes.

After coming out of the trail, I went to the town of Taupo (tao-po). This is basically the ski town of the North Island. Most people stay here when they ski in Tongorrio or on Mt. Ruapehu. It also borders the largest lake in NZ, lake Taupo. It's a fun little town, with some shops and restaurants, but not much else in the summertime when I was there. The town boasts it has some of the best MTB, but I wasn't able to do any of it.

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