Hello everybody,

It's finally time to fill you all in on our adventures in Rotorua, the land of bubbling mud & geysers, with an added hint of sulphur! It was lovely to finally arrive in Rotorua, unpack and stay in one place for a few nights - as lovely as our Coromandel road trip was, it did get quite tiring packing up and moving on everyday (I'm sure that will fill you all with sympathy...) Anyway, in some respects we should consider ourselves very lucky - we had the perfect weather for Coromandel, clear, blue, warm, sunny days, and according to Keith at Tauranga i-site we also had the perfect weather for Rotorua. Except that the perfect weather for Rotorua according to Keith was overcast, rainy days! We could see his point, the rain made it extra steamy and really added to the mean, moody atmosphere of the place, it's just we both love blue sky & warmth! But it did look magnificent, especially when the sun came out after a downpour.

We went to Rotorua Museum first (partly to escape a downpour) but this turned out to be a really smart move because the exhibitions were so interesting, and they helped to give us some excellent background knowledge on the place: how Rotorua became what it is today; the history of the Te Arawa people (the Maori settlers in this area); the arrival of tourism in the area; the eruption of Tarawera, causing loss of life and the burial of an entire village; and the poignant story of the 28th Maori battalion during the Second World War; all huge events in shaping the city which stands today and the people who live within it. The Museum also gave us a complimentary pass so we could come back to see the roof terrace on a day when it wasn't p***ing it down with rain!

Our second day in Rotorua began with a trip to Te Wairoa, the village buried in the eruption of Tarawera. And while this was always on the agenda for me, what with my years studying the eruption of Thera (now Santorini) and subsequent burial of Akrotiri, the exhibition we'd seen at the museum also brought it to life for Su and we both really enjoyed our visit. Again we were blessed with our own private tour guide, Huru, a Maori gentleman (in every sense of the word) who was a descendent of the people who had lived in Te Wairoa when the volcano erupted. Te Wairoa was one of the original tourist spots of New Zealand as it was the gateway to the famous pink and white terraces, proclaimed by New Zealanders as the eighth wonder of the world, which were also sadly destroyed in the eruption. Parts of the village are still being excavated, but you can wander around several of the houses and see how the lava flow and ash covered the village, killing many people in the process. It really brings home the power of nature and makes you very, very aware of just how volatile this area is and how thin the earth's crust is here - lovely as it is, we definitely wouldn't want to live here! One bonus of the wet weather: the Te Wairoa waterfall was magnificent, though the cloudy, foggy climate meant that we couldn't see the Tarawera volcano from Lake Tarawera which was a shame.

That evening we treated ourselves. We both wanted to go to one of the Maori 'experiences', of which there are many on offer in Rotorua. We picked Mitai, partly as it has the reputation of being the most real, and partly because it is next to Rainbow Springs and you can buy a combination ticket for the two events. It was fabulous. We were collected from our accommodation on a special bus & taken to the village where one man was asked to act as 'chief' for the tribe of visitors (for us, it was a tribe of 20 nations) - our chief was Daniel from Thailand. We were led past our food, cooked in the traditional fashion, in a pit covered with hot stones, and taken to a stream where we witnessed the arrival of a warrior canoe (which actually crashed when manoeuvring around a corner - not part of the act as the warriors were all crying with laughter!) Then we went to the village. Here the chief made an offering to our chief, who in turn made a speech on behalf of the visitors - not quite as welcoming as it sounds because the welcoming involves lots of challenging and waving of long pointy things, but Chief Daniel coped well! This was followed with a concert of traditional Maori song and dance, accompanied by explanations of traditional weapons, and how the dances developed from the need to practice using the weapons and strengthening your muscles in order to be fit for battle. And yes, it included a haka. Did you realise the flickering tongue & bulging eyes meant that they thought their opponents looked good enough to eat? Yep, they practised cannibalism until a few hundred years ago... The concert was excellent, but Su & I were actually entranced by the chief (the Maori one, not Daniel) who was awesome, so powerful and really quite attractive, even underneath the face painting! I especially liked the fact they they weren't trying to say 'look how we live', but this is how we used to live, now we live like you, but just remember our traditions. I think that was quite important. (I tried to take a few photos but my flash wasn't good enough and the light was too bad so gave up and just enjoyed it!) And then we ate - oh how delicious! Chicken & lamb, potatoes & kumara, all cooked underground, and all so tender, with fantastic salads, and followed by chocolate log! Yum-yum! Then we went to Rainbow Springs, passing the special glowworm spring at Mitai, and the evening was topped off magnificently as we saw kiwi in the nocturnal kiwi house! They are such incredible creatures, and so bizarre looking, kind of prehistoric, and they were not bothered about us at all. We spent about 10 minutes in there watching them use their long beaks to root around looking for food, snuffling away - they really can make a lot of noise, no wonder they are so vulnerable to predators in the wild. They run a special programme at Rainbow Springs as kiwi chicks are left to fend for themselves as soon as they hatch in the wild & many die, so they bring in eggs, hatch them, feed them up without human contact and rerelease them into the wild - over 1000 have been released over the last year, a fantastic result for a bird threatened by extinction. We also saw tuatara, incredible creatures related to both snakes & lizards, which really are prehistoric, dating back over 200 million years! It really is like looking a dinosaur in the eye - I tried to outstare one, but failed miserably!

The next day we decided to explore a little on foot and walked to Kuirau Park, one of the free thermal areas in Rotorua. Just like a normal walk in the park until you notice rocks steaming away and pits of boiling, bubbling mud, all casually cordoned off! Then onto Ohinemutu, one of the original Maori settlements where we saw the Tamatekapu meeting house, and visited St Faith's Anglican Church, which was wonderful. A traditional Christian church decorated with Maori carvings, a real mixture of the familiar and tribal, which has a window with an image of Christ carved in the glass, with Christ wearing a Maori clock and appearing to be walking on the waters of Lake Rotorua behind.

We dedicated our last day in this area to two of the thermal areas: Wai-O-Tapu and Orakei Korako. Wai-O-Tapu was actually a little bit of a disappointment. We chose it as it was the most colourful of the thermal areas, but we visited on a day when the entire valley was covered in freezing fog so we really couldn't see that much at all - you got an impression of the colours, but they didn't look anywhere near as stunning as they do on the brochures, on clear days with blue sky! And we started our visit with a trip to the Lady Knox Geyser, which is artificially enticed to blow by a staff member unceremoniously dumping some soap powder into it, which did feel a little forced. It also enticed everybody to arrive at the same time, so then you all follow a walking path, which gets a little crowded. We were completely amused and a little stunned at the stupidity of a group we were following, who insisted of taking a photo of themselves pointing at everything (hence the photo of Su!), often jumping over barriers to stand next to boiling pits of mud or whatever to get the best shot! Unbelievable!

But Orakei Korako was an absolute winner! Known as the Hidden Valley it is one of the best thermal areas, but a little off the beaten track, so much, much quieter. And it was magical, helped enormously by the clearing of the fog! You catch a little ferry over and wander around marvelling at the blowing geysers, bubbling mud, huge terraces of sinter which give you an indication of the magnificence of the destroyed pink & white terraces, and the wonderful, magical Ruatapu Cave, a.k.a. Aladdin's Cave. This is one of only two geothermal caves in the world and it feels so special, a really spiritual, sacred place, filled with a natural peace and stillness, and we sat there for ages, and felt so safe, which is strange considering what surrounds you. You are invited to place your left hand in the warm water and make a wish, and also, slightly bizarrely, to wash your jewellery - I couldn't resist the opportunity and can confirm my earrings came out much shinier! And when you turn to walk out you see the entrance, lined with tree ferns. It was so amazing.

So we spent that night at Taupo, then headed south, past Mount Doom, where Shadowfax positively galloped with recognition of wizards, hobbits & noble deeds, and arrived at the Kapiti Coast, where Ross, Helen and adorable little Stevie had a warm NZ welcome waiting for us. And we have had a wonderful few days with friends, a very welcome break from arriving at a new hostel every night and trying to cook dinner in a strange kitchen, surrounded by people asking "so, where are you from?" We've had chance to stop, relax, eat some very fine food and drink some incredibly good wine and chat with lovely people. We've also started to look for work in Wellington (we're moving into town at the weekend), catch up with things on the blog (I've added to the photos albums of Tauranga, Coromandel & Hobbiton and also updated those blogs a little), and we're are now having fun painting a couple of rooms for Ross & Helen.

Anyway, I think I've rambled on enough for tonight. Take care of yourselves. Lots of love, Jo & Su, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx