Rotorua (the name of the lake and town) is famed for:

- Maori culture (it's a key Maori lake and the heart of their society)
- Hot springs
- An all-pervading eggy smell as a result of the sulphurous springs.

All three are fascinating.

Our campsite is the first highlight: it's on top of hot springs so if you ask to hire a tent site, you can choose a normal pitch for $15... or a heated pitch for $25- this means a pitch directly above a hot spring so the ground is hot 24/7! Ace. Of course, we're not actually staying in a tent, we've got a nice ensuite cabin with wee kitchen and, brilliantly, 'House' on the telly. The campsite (or Holiday Park as they prefer) also has naturally heated mineral pools free to use and chill out in for ages- just don't use the hottest one- it's well above bath temperature!

On day 2, we checked out Wai-tapu Thermal Wonderland which, despite the slightly naff name, was really smart. First up is the hot water geyser (pictured) which is a real treat. It's possible to knock this as the people who run the park set the geyser off manually every day at a set time by dropping soap into it (sounds odd but this breaks the surface tension, causing two underwater hot pools of different temperatures to mix, leading to steam, increased pressure and a massive water spout) but let's not be negative- the geyser WOULD go off every day anyway, this just helps it along. The rest of the park is a crazy landscape of hot pools, mineral pools, weird alien landscapes and bubbling mud pools. We loved it and ended up spending over three hours there.

Our dabbling in Maori culture had given us a dilemma, particularly after our some of our South American experiences. So, is it tasteless to pay Maori people to put on a show for you? Is it fake to see this in a so-called "recreated authentic Maori village"? Is it even worse to see this in a hotel conference style room? Ultimately we decided that (1) it's no worse than paying to see Scottish country dancing in Edinburgh or opera in Italy, and (2) it was raining so the indoor version sounds more tempting than sitting in a forest.

And it was BRILLIANT. We went to Matariki and they gave us a hangi (Maori feast) which is cooked in a stone underground oven, via the medium of the ground's heat/steam, and is an all you can eat buffet (and we ate, and ate, and ate...)The food was delicous. Succulent lamb and beef, huge mussels and Kumara (locally grown sweet potato thing). We were asked to nominate a chief from the diners and he went on stage to meet the Maori chief. Andrew almost volunteered but is very glad he didn't as the Maori chief's greeting involves a lot of shouting, Tongue-wiggling and spear-thrusting. Genuinely powerful and terrifying. They warn you that it is very rude to laugh at the greeting and that you must keep eye contact. No problem with either of these - it certainly sorts the men from the boys. After our slap up feast, we had a Maori concert of traditional song and dance which was totally fab. It felt sincere, that the performers were proud to share their customs with us and educate us in their heritage. Then to round it all off, they asked for women to volunteer to do the poi dance and men to do the Haka- the photo and video give a fair idea of what happened but let's just add that the instruction was limited and we put WAY more effort into it than anyone else on that stage! Great, great fun and hugely recommended.