Maori "Hangi" dinner and smelly vulcanic activity

Kia Ora!

Right now am back in Queenstown to work for Felton Road, arrived yesterday just in time to meet the rest of the harvesting team at the local pub. Today, Saturday I have a day off, so I decided to go to Queenstown to get some of all my photos sorted (read copied and doing backups). I have found a favorite Internet place here with mac computers, which was needed sins I got virus on some of my memory cards and my Ipod after using allot of different PC (or CP) computers all over New Zealand. So now I can delete unwanted virus files and hopefully be able to use the Ipod on PC computers again.

Rotorua and Auckland 31st of March to 3rd of April

Took the Nakedbus (cheap bus company) from Napier to Rotorua at 7.55 in the morning. After spending allot of time at fancy wineries drinking expensive wines and having gourmet food it was unpleasant to be reminded that I'm just a regular worker traveling with the rest of "Le Poebl" (Pöbeln). But I guess that I had to pay that price for last weeks luxurious life style :-)

Arriving to Rotorua we (read Åsa) decided to book a Maori dinner called "Hangi" and also a trip to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. When all was booked and paid for we started to walk with all our bags to the hostel, quite a walk with all the luggage :-)
Then we decided to go for a coffee and also to visit the Rotorua Museum which we had received a free ticket to when we booked the other activities. The coffee was OK (Starbucks) and the Museum was small but nice with some Maori art and sculptures and also a nice movie about the history of Rotorua co-starring Bret McKenzie (FOTC). Then we went back to the "Funky Green Voyager" our hostel, so that I could get some sleep before the dinner.

A shuttle bus picked us up to take us and a few others to the Hangi. Arriving at the Mitai (the family name of the Maori tribe) Village we where lead in to a big dining tent, didn't look all that different than a regular Octoberfest beer tent. The start of the Hangi felt really touristic, not that I've been to a Canary Island "Grisfest" but i got a feeling that it would look similar if everyone was sober and not all of the tourists where Swedish.
We where welcomed by a Maori man that would bee our guide of the whole event, he of course welcomed us in Maori Kia Ora! He then explained to us "the tribe of many nations" that we needed a chief that would lead our tribe, lucky enough for a shy Swede like myself a Australian guy felt the urge to become Chief and volunteered. Our Maori guide showed surprisingly good language skills and when he asked around which countries that was represented among us "the tribe of many nations" (which turned out to bee no less that 22) he could say hello, welcome and chocolate cake in all different language. He did this in flawless Danish and Chinese to just give you an example.
Then we went to look at the Hangi food which was cooked traditionally by digging a hole in the ground and then filling it with hot rocks, then putting the food over them in a steaming basket and finally covering everything with damp cloths.

Then we went in to the forest to visit the Mitai tribe and see there Waka (war canoe) and a show with traditional greeting ceremony and music and of course the famous Haka. This was really nice especially the show and the ceremony because it made the whole experience less touristy. Then we walked back for an excellent dinner and some chocolate cake for dessert. To finish the evening off we went back into the forest to watch glow worms and some of the native flora and fauna like the silver fern.

Next day we woke up quite early after a good nights sleep, eager to go to the thermal wonderland. Also this tour included a pick up at our hostel. First stop where at a geyser called Lady Knox, which erupted at approx 10.15 every day, with a little help from a guide who put some soap down into the geyser which caused it to erupt a few minutes later.
After the geyser we went to the main thermal park Wai-O-Tapu, where we had about 1,5 hours to wonder around by our self's. There was a quite dense sulfur smell covering most of the area, so it took some time getting use to. The landscape was stunning though and it felt a little bit like being on another planet. Me and Åsa walked around all the craters, thermal hot pools, sulphur spewing holes and arsenic lakes and took allot of photos. When we'd finished we met up with Volker (one of the many, many, many Germans we met on the trip) and Naomi (some kiwi relative of his). They took us to a really nice natural hotpool area where you could swim in naturally heated pools, which we didn't do sins none of us had swim clothes.

Then we spent the rest of the day with them, eating pizza by the lake and watching some black swans. Then I discovered that I'd lost my drivers license (Grr, f**ck, faan, Scheiße) got a little panicked. Then I remembered that I left it at the Hostel in Napier as deposit for my room key instead of money and when we checked out I got 20 dollars back, being me and it was early in the morning I excepted the 20 dollars and forgot my drivers license. After a few phone calls I had sorted the problem and they promised to send it to me in Auckland the following day Phu! :-)

That night I cooked a farewell dinner for Åsa, Volker and Naomi at our Hostel which had a more than decent kitchen. We had French green lentils, sweet potato and lamb racks with some nice red wine and while serving the food I immediately got the question from two girls if the could adopt me :-)

Next morning I took the bus to Auckland. After about 3,5 hours I reached the biggest city in New Zealand, and I found my hostel quite fast as well. Then I immediately went out to find something to eat, and also to look around in the city. Some two hours later I returned to my hostel just in time to meet up with a very nice British girl that had brought my drivers license from Napier YES!! I was ready to continue my travels, and I could relax and fall asleep easily.

See You All Later!!!
MARTIN