I've already described our first night in Rotorua. The next day on the 27th, we went to Wai-O-Tapu to see the geyser erupt and walk around in he thermal areas. We were glad we hadn't paid for these tickets. It was a beautiful day so it was nice to be outside, but it was very crowded and there were only a couple strikingly beautiful thermal pools. Here is the best one:
It was interesting, but hardly compared to Yellowstone or the park behind out B and B which Ill describe in a bit. The afternoon we walked around Rotorua and saw Ohinemutu- an active Maori neighborhood Marie, artisan shop and homes. We also went to e Government gardens which were beautiful Andrew walked the Sulphuric Bay. In the evening we experienced the history of the Maori people at Tamiki, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We learned about Hama, the traditional dance , games, weaponry, navigation from the Polynesian islands to NZ, and cooking. They prepared out meal in the thermal ovens underground, and we actually saw that he food did indeed come from an underground vat that cooked the meat and vegetables. They also provide entertainment of dance and song. A thoroughly enjoyable evening. We ate dinner with two gentlemen who were of the Sami tribe in Sweden, and their job was herding reindeer( not kidding), a young gal from the Netherlands, and a Scottish couple.
Today, the 28th, we hiked Rainbow Mountain and overlooked the region. It was a good warmup hike before we do Tongariro Alpine Crossing on Friday. It was beautiful and the rain held off. In the afternoon we walked around Kuirau Park where children play next to hot thermal areas and mud pools. Strangest park, but so interesting. We had dinner at Eat street in the middle of town.
