We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog to bring you this announcement: People in BC think they are well versed in driving windy roads. They don't have shit on the Kiwis! As I have been typing we are on our way to Waitomo and holy fack! The driver warned us that if you were going to get sick from the winy roads let her know and she can stop or give you a bag and I thought she might be exaggerating a bit. Nope! I feel like I am at the damn Bill Lynch! Up and down and all around, and twist and turn and bump and hump. It seems to be never ending! I am glad I don't have to navigate these roads with a bus going at least 80!
Now back to our scheduled blog entry. We got to the Zorb and there were a bunch of us on the bus that wanted to do it and they said it was more fun if you paired up with someone and did it together. I ended up pairing up with the fella from Victoria as team Canada. We got changed and got taken up the hill in a SUV that also returns the Zorb balls after they come down the hill. Team Canada went up with team Iceland, two really great girls from our bus and the guy asked if we wanted to race each other down the hill. So two balls headed down at the same time and the winner would be who ever stayed standing inside the ball the longest. The guy set up the balls in the areas and pumped in a bunch of water then told us to dive in through the hole. So we had to superman dive through the hole into the ball then he zipped us in. He called 1-2-3 GO! And released the gate keeping us at the top of the hill. Marc and I started pushing like little hamsters and I think we stayed standing for less then a minute! Although I am proud to say that Team Canada won that race! Certainly not by much, but a win none the less. After we both fell on our asses it was about 2 minutes of sloshing around and flip floping all over the inside of the ball until we reached the bottom. I tried to take pictures inside the Zorb ball but only one was of anything. We were being tossed around like a couple of rag dolls I couldn't possibly focus my camera on any one thing. Also it was so quick that before we knew it we were soaked, slightly bruised and at the bottom of the hill. After it was all said and done I thought it was SO fun and I absolutely loved it, but like most activities in NZ it was over priced for what you got. I feel like for the $35 you should be able to do at least 3 runs down the hill. I am still super glad I did it though, and check!
The cultural experience was something I was really looking forward to, and I was glad I was able to go and do it. We waited outside our hostel and the bus picked us up to take us out to the Tamaki Maori Village for our experience. Through the good ol' Moreeeny luck we got on the bus filled with junior and high school kids. Apparently there was some school holidays trip that was going out to the village. This was slightly annoying, and I would have preferred to be on a bus of adults, but it got me where I needed to go. When we arrived at the village and got off the bus you could smell the campfires and we entered into a stadium type area where the warriors would perform the opening and welcoming ceremonies. Unfortunately it was after dark so my camera didn't get great photos of much of the outside stuff, but it did get some sweet vids for you! Being after dark was better for in person though. It was very cool to see the warriors painted up and doing the traditional opening for us. They worked very hard to provide a fairly authentic experience all the way through and I must say that all of the people working there to put on the cultural experience did such a wonderful job and really made it so I enjoyed every moment
from start to finish. After the chief (who had a bangin body in his little loin cloth) welcomed us into the village we went through a set of archways that opened into a great little village set up where you can go in and learn about several aspects of the Maori culture. I visited several displays including learning how to do the haka, learning about tattooing and carving, some games that the women used and some fighting styles. I also got my picture taken with two of the Maori warriors with my tongue out. It was really common for them to stick their tongues out and bulge their eyes out to intimidate their enemies. After visiting around the village part we were taken to be shown where our dinner was being cooked. We were going to be eating a traditional Maori Hangi,which is a meal that they cook buried in the ground and they use white hot rocks to create an earth oven. So they unburied our feed for the night and hauled out a huge basket of potatoes and a huge basket of chickens. The smells were just awesome! I was very much looking forward to the hangi but first we were ushered into a building where we were going to be entertained by the Maori people with song and dance. I was so lucky and had a seat right in the front row right up against the stage. The only time this became a disadvantage was when I was trying to video tape it they were a bit too close. I was just amazed and enthralled with the performances. They were so great and the people there at Tamaki were so into it that it made it that much better. I was so impressed and there is no media in the world that could capture how great the performances were! That is something common about all the places around here, the pictures or videos don't even d it a percent of justice. After the performances it was time to go to the Meeting House for our meal. What a scoff we had! There was potatoes, carrots, stuffing, chicken, beef, fish, mussels, some salad and bread. It was a buffet so you could eat until your hearts content, but after one plate I was stuffed to the tits. I felt I should try a bit of everything while I was there. I mean when is the next time I will be at a Maori hangi? After stuffing my face with such delicious food they brought out dessert. They had a chocolate brownie like cake with custard, fruit salad and pavlova. Pavlova is a traditional NZ dessert, and very good. So I managed to stuff in one piece of pavlova but after that I was afraid they would have to roll me out of there. Then as we all sat about chit chatting they sung some songs before we wrapped it up. All in all it was about 3.5 hours of well spent money and time. I would absolutely recommend the Tamaki to anyone else wanting a Maori culture experience!
I know this is a long one (I did warn you) but I really did do a lot of really great things in Rotorua. I can't skip over any or I will feel like I am cheating you guys. This next bit really is the last event that I did before we hit the road for Taupo so keep reading. In the morning I got picked up by a very cool shuttle bus driver named Pedro. He was going to take me to Wai-O-Tapu, if I remember correctly Wai mean water and Tapu means sacred. I know for sure that Wai is water, but I can't remember for sure about the second part. That is another good thing about being down here, I am learning lots of Maori words for things. So Pedro took us first to the bubbling mud pools in the geo-thermal park and then to see the Lady Knox Geyser. So #39 on the list is: Get within 100 yards of a real geyser. Check! The Lady Knox erupts every day at 10:15am and I was there to witness and take pictures of the whole thing. Now I was a little confused as to how they knew exactly when it would erupt until I got there. The Lady Knox would erupt once every 48hrs or so on its own but the people in the park give it a little help. They add an environmentally friendly catalyst to ensure that the geyser erupts in time for the tourists. It was very cool to see, and maybe someday I will see one erupt naturally. She did throw up a lot of water and it went really high too. Unfortunately since I travel alone and there wasn't really anyone I wanted to ask to take my picture I am not in any of the pictures, but next time. After seeing the Lady Knox erupt the race was on to get to the Wai-O-Tapu park. Tour buses and private cars alike raced to get down to the park. Good ol' Pedro got us there second bus I think! This just ensured that there wasn't a whole lot of people in your pictures because the park really does get packed! I was grateful for Pedro's quick action and years of 
racing to the park experience! The park has a 75min walk around where you can see a number of pools, craters, lakes etc. All of these features are a direct result of geo-thermal activities below the surface of what we could see. As a result of this the park smelled worse then any where in Rotorua! It was pretty bad, but totally work it. There were steaming craters all around and it felt like Pedro just dropped us off on another planet. There were pools of boiling water and bubbling mud all around. Some of the highlights were a large area called the artists palette. It was a large area of hot water and the natural chemicals within the earth created splotches of bright colors amongst the whole ares. It was very neat! Another was a green lake. It was a bright emerald green and just gorgeous to look at. Then right at the end of the park there is a small pool of water and the sulphur content is so high in that one pool that it is a neon greenish yellow. It looked radio active! The park was great and again the pictures don't compare to the real deal, but some of the things I saw were just amazing. After exiting the park Pedro took off and the Magic bus picked me up there so we could head out to Taupo for the rest of the day. So that, in a very very large nutshell, was my time in Rotorua. Although it smells like shit 24/7 I will be going back there at some point, and there is just so much to do there!
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