I've just finished my three day stay at Rotorua, and a great three days they were! Tony, my host in Mount Maunganui, did indeed drive me to Rotorua and also took me along on a drive with his mother to see some of the lakes in the area. Such a nice thing to do! The lakes are so incredibly clean, and the surrounding hills covered in vegetation. Quite the sight! Perhaps the most well-known lake is Tarawera, where in 1886 there was a volcanic eruption that took the lives of about 120 people, mostly Maoris. Some Europeans were also killed, as this had become a popular tourist destination, even way back then.
One of the lakes around Rotorua (so lush!)
In Rotorua I opted to stay at a motel, the Accolade. Can't quite recall why but I thought it might be useful if I wanted to book an activity. Whatever, it was just fine, and on the edge of the downtown area, where I prefer to be. Rotorua is a very nice little town, population about 70,000. It has many parks and a pleasant downtown area with lots of shopping opportunity. There is a walking trail by the lake with many shorebirds, including black swans, mallard ducks and ........ Canada geese. They're everywhere!
Rotorua was a wonderful experience. I knew it attracted many tourists, now I understand why. There are lots of adventure activities, but I wasn't there for that. But that is far from the only thing of interest in the area. I went first to the museum, a big old Tudor style building which had once been a bathhouse, and then a cabaret. The exhibits focused on the building's history, the Maori history and the volcano at Mt. Tarawera.
Rotorua museum
In Rotorua I discovered just how much pride there is in New Zealand in the Maori, both on the part of the Maori themselves, and also the other New Zealanders. So different from the way our native population is viewed. But it's been a struggle for the Maoris. Their population was cut by more than half in the late 1800s and early 1900s, in part because so many died from diseases brought by the "pakeha" (Maori term for Europeans). Their culture was in danger of disappearing until efforts were made as recently as 30 or 40 years ago to revive it. Now the Maori language and customs have been strenghened, and the schools are now teaching students more about the Maori.
Tourists in Rotorua can attend a Maori cultural event where they are shown what life in a village (marae in Maori) was like. I went to the Tamaki Village. The evening began with the welcoming ceremony, where it is determined if you are friend or foe. If friend, there is then the pressing of the noses (hongi) of the chiefs, and the welcome dance. Inside the village we saw demonstrations of traditions that were once part of their lives: poi (a ball on a braided string) twirling, hand and stick games, warrior games. The evening ended with a Maori meal (hangi) of food cooked in the traditional way (roasted for hours under the earth and covered with cloth and earth) and a Maori cultural performance.
Maori warriors protecting their village
Weaving demonstration
In the area around Rotorua, there is a great deal of geothermal activity. Two tectonic plates meet under New Zealand, the Australian and the Pacific. The rubbing of these plates creates heat which escapes through weak spots in the earth's crust, and there are many in this area as the crust is thinner here. That makes this region vulnerable and is what caused the eruption of Mt. Tarawera in 1886. Steam rises through fissures which can warm bodies of water, sometimes to the point of boiling. I saw the geothermal area at Wai-o-tapu, thought to be one of the most impressive. It was astounding, and a bit scary if you think about it! The colour of the water in some of the pools was a vivid orange, yellow or lime green, depending on the minerals in the water or close by.
Boiling mud!!
Lakes at Wai-o-tapu, the colour!
The evening of February 5th there was a night market in the downtown area of Rotorua, with lots of food stalls, crafts and music.
My trip to the geothermal area entitled me to a short town tour, which I took mostly as I knew it went to the Redwood forest, which I had not yet seen. . The trees in this forest are massive and were brought here from California years ago. In New Zealand they grow very quickly and are ready to cut in just 25 years. There are many walking trails through the forest, but there was no time for walking, unfortunately. Forestry has become an important industry in New Zealand, thanks in part to a pine, the pinus radiata, which was imported from North America because it grows very quickly, and can also be cut in just 25 years.
In the Redwood forest
February 6, my last day in Rotorua, was Waitangi Day, New Zealand's birthday and the celebration of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. I decided to go to the festivities at Whakarewarewa (try saying that 3 times, I can't even do it once), an existing Maori village just about a half hour's walk from my hotel. What luck. It was extraordinary. Our guide through the village (Waimaria was her name), was excellent. She still lives in the village, together with just a handful of families. But to the extent possible they still do things in the traditional ways. Whaka, as the village is called, is on top of a geothermal area so they actually use the heat produced to còok, wash and clean their clothes. I would highly recommend a visit to this site to anyone near this area.
Performance at Whakarewarewa
Home in the village
Geothermal activity close by
Oven using heat from the earth to cook
And now I am in Taupo, after a short bus ride, at another great Airbnb. I have my own very nice bedroom and bathroom in a private area of the house, and the hosts seem delightful. Look forward to my time here! More on that next time.
