Te Puia, Rotorua

After we left the beach we headed to the tourist city of Rotorua which is know for its Maori culture and geysers. When we were driving into the city there was a horrible smell which I immediately blamed Jonny for, but to our surprise Rotorua just smells like this due to all the geothermal activity. We checked into our hotel and started to plan our time there. We checked out the hours of some of the sights and activates.

We went to Te Puia to see what they had to offer in regards to Maori culture and decided to come back in the morning for one of their tours and Maori Cultural shows. We also went to a Polynesian Spa, where there was a family area.

The next day we were up early and headed to Te Puia. We began our day with a tour of the grounds which sit in a geo-thermal valley.



The geyser was beautiful. Each color on the rocks represented oxidation of different chemicals.



Gemma really thought this was really stinky!!!





Gemma and Lily trying to escape the smell.



Gemma and Angus with the geyser.



We also went to this mud pool which was boiling hot.



Te Puia also had a Maori carving and weaving school located on site. Here is one of the carvers hard a work. Even though he was carving with an axe he was amazingly accurate.



This woman was an incredible speaker taught us about Maori weaving in a very short amount of time. They use flax to weave with and the finished product was once compared to Irish Linen.



The Cultural Show is about to begin. We are going to be invited into their community house.



I didn't find the invitation very inviting and Angus was definitely a bit freaked out, but we went with it anyway.



Lily was one of the first volunteers for the first dance they performed.



Jonny also volunteered to learn how to do the Haka.



Some of the performers in the Cultural Show.