As soon as the bus doors open out to Rotorua the pungent smell of rotten eggs hits you. It’s the smell of Hydrogen Sulphide risen up from the ground and encompasses the entire town. You see Rotten-rua is built on crusts of earth that lay like eggshells above a supervolcano waiting to go off, hopefully not today.. The hostel we stayed in had its own hot tub and swimming pool heated by the Earth. Next door to the hostel was lava bar a good place to get your drink on.To pass the time we went luging, this is basically where you squeeze into a tiny go-kart and career down a 5km track weaving through tight corners. I have to be honest and say that my competitive steak shone a little too much and I almost drove a few people off the track, got some air on the slopes and leaned on only two wheels a few too many times. It was a blast though and no one got majorly injured which is nice. Later we went to the geothermic park full of steam and bubbling mud, we boiled eggs in the pools and ate them with a pinch of salt and pepper. Nearby a on a plateau of perspiring rock a geyser erupts with flashes of steam and spits superheated water 20 meters into the air.
A busride outside the town, deep within the Tawa forest lies a 200 year old Maori village. You stand outside the surrounding fortifications not daring to enter the sacred circle drawn in the earth just outside the gates. One lone warrior emerges from within and moves towards our ‘clan’ he edges slowly starring with intimidating wide eyes and brandishing a sharpened wooden staff. He is wearing war paint and tradition clothing occasionally grunting and wields the staff menacingly towards us. More warriors have appeared above the fortifications and more coming out of the gates, there is a chanting from within that is growing louder by the second. We trade offering and chiefs greet each other with the Maori welcome (touching noses twice) and the intimidation abruptly ends. Their chief a man with an orca’s tooth around his neck, he welcomes us ‘Kia Ora’ and invites us into the village and the women greet us. Within there are simple timber huts and tall thin trees.
A busride outside the town, deep within the Tawa forest lies a 200 year old Maori village. You stand outside the surrounding fortifications not daring to enter the sacred circle drawn in the earth just outside the gates. One lone warrior emerges from within and moves towards our ‘clan’ he edges slowly starring with intimidating wide eyes and brandishing a sharpened wooden staff. He is wearing war paint and tradition clothing occasionally grunting and wields the staff menacingly towards us. More warriors have appeared above the fortifications and more coming out of the gates, there is a chanting from within that is growing louder by the second. We trade offering and chiefs greet each other with the Maori welcome (touching noses twice) and the intimidation abruptly ends. Their chief a man with an orca’s tooth around his neck, he welcomes us ‘Kia Ora’ and invites us into the village and the women greet us. Within there are simple timber huts and tall thin trees.
I played a traditional stick game that requires quick reactions and remembering your Maori left from Maori right but only managed to beat an old lady. I saw the intricate tribal tattoos etched deep in the faces of the Maori and discovered they used to us dog poo as ink. We learnt about Maori weaponry and the sharp wooden clubs that would find the back of enemy’s necks and invade rib cages so hearts could better be snatched. I had a go at learning the Haka war dance. The iconic wide eyes and tongue out is meant to represent what the enemy will look like once a battle has been won.
Haka
Ka Mate! Ka Mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
Ka Mate! Ka Mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
Tenei te tangata puhuru huru
Nana nei tiki mai
Whakawhiti t era
We entered the ancestral meeting house that looked like what you might imagine a Viking to live in. We learned more about the Maori culture and way of life and they performed a ceremony of dances and songs. Once over we proceeded to the dining area and had a traditional Hangi meal that had sat for several hours on hot stones within an earthen pit. The food was amazing with sweet potatoes, fish and pavlova (first made in NZ). The evening came to a close with speeches of farewell, songs and dances.
Ka Mate! Ka Mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!
Tenei te tangata puhuru huru
Nana nei tiki mai
Whakawhiti t era
A upa... ne! ka upa… ne!
A upane kaupane whiti t era!
A upane kaupane whiti t era!
I die! I die! I live! I live!
I die! I die! I live! I live!
This is the hairy man
Who fetched the sun
And caused it to shine again
One upward step! Another upward step!
An upward step, another… the sun rises
I die! I die! I live! I live!
This is the hairy man
Who fetched the sun
And caused it to shine again
One upward step! Another upward step!
An upward step, another… the sun rises
We entered the ancestral meeting house that looked like what you might imagine a Viking to live in. We learned more about the Maori culture and way of life and they performed a ceremony of dances and songs. Once over we proceeded to the dining area and had a traditional Hangi meal that had sat for several hours on hot stones within an earthen pit. The food was amazing with sweet potatoes, fish and pavlova (first made in NZ). The evening came to a close with speeches of farewell, songs and dances.
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