New Zealand: Rotorua

Today was a busy, but great day! I was up and out of the hotel a little after 8, to make sure I was on time for my 9am helicopter ride. It was great to see the area by air. It was just the pilot and me in the helicopter, and she gave me a lot of good information about the area.

After the helicopter ride, I drove outside of town a little ways to a geothermal park and watched the Lady Knox geyser erupt. I then spent about two hours walking through the three trails that went through the park. The colors and the bubbling water and mud were amazing.

I drove a scenic route back into town and stopped for a late lunch. I went back to the hotel to drop a few things off and then was picked up for my late afternoon/evening activities. I went to a Maori cultural show, where they danced, chanted, demonstrated the war canoe, and gave us lots of information about their culture, music, fighting styles, weapons, clothes, and much more.

One thing I found interesting is that the big fern trees they have here that look prehistoric, are called silver ferns because the underside of the adult fern is silver in color. The Maori people used the ferns by placing the underside up and lined their paths with them. That way, they could see their way at night as the moon and stars illuminated the silver of the ferns.

We finished the cultural portion of the evening with a traditional haka, or feast. It was delicious! After dinner we took a nature walk and saw glow worms, some other native creatures, and the endangered kiwi bird. Afterwards we were driven back to the hotel.