Reached Rotoroa on Friday afternoon, 12 Feb., after a lunchtime stop at a small town called Cambridge (the other one) where, as luck would have it, there were several antique shops. Purchases were made (small and lightweight). Then, on to Lodge 199 to be welcomed by Kay, her shih-tzu Freddie, and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, in the late afternoon. We could happily live at the Lodge forever. It is a lovely, newish house right on the waterfront of Lake Tanawera, at the far end of which sits a (hopefully extinct) volcano, which last blew in 1886, burying 3 villages with about 150 people. Anyway, the Lodge has just 3 suites, ours was really comfortable, modern but with real thoughtfulness in the presentation, and superb ensuite bathroom. Kay is the most welcoming and thoughtful of hosts, and is extremely knowledgeable about the area and the local history, and she also seems to know everyone, making suggestions for places to eat and reservations where needed.

A traditional Maori Hangi dinner was arranged for our first evening, at the Mitai family's Maori village. As part of this event, we were picked up at the Lodge in a van by Tim, a Maori man (he said he was 70) who regaled us for the 30 minute trip with stories about his people, their mythology, and a bit of what we would experience. (Glenna noted that Tim had a seat belt but there were none for the 8 passengers his van accommodated. His descriptions generally included demonstrations with both hands of what he was telling us, resulting in a fairly hair-raising drive.) A Hangi meal is one where the food - lamb, chicken, stuffing, potatoes and sweet potatoes - is all cooked on top of hot stones that have been buried in a pit for hours. Before eating, we (and the other 140 guests) were treated to demonstrations of Maori culture, customs, love songs, fighting songs and finally the Haka: the chanting and chest-beating that the warriors used to perform to get themselves psyched up for battle—and is now performed by the New Zealand All Black Rugby team before their matches. It is pretty fearsome, especially when performed by very large men wearing very little, and covered in tattoos. The dances and cultural demonstrations were leavened with some humour at both our and their expense, and included mentions of KFC. Imagine our surprise when our driver, Tim, turned up on stage to explain the significance of what they were doing and saying. Dinner was actually not too bad, though the wine, which is the Mitai family's own brand, can't compete with New Zealand's finest. After dinner, we had a guided walk through the nearby woods which showed us the famous glow worms in action. On the drive home, only Robin was able to stay awake enough to converse with Tim and enjoy the benefit of his long experience and hear about the mythological origins of his tribe (which included stories that cannot be repeated on a family blog…)