After breakfast with traditional Maori toast (which strangely resembles French toast) we head for the town of Rotorua, where we visit a Maori village situated among hot-springs. The people living here use geothermal energy on a daily basis for the preparation of food, heating of their houses etc. It is very interesting, but I somehow doubt if it really is a very healthy living environment... Anyway after a tour through the village we attend a Maori dance show, w...

Another whole day in the bus , as we cross almost the entire Northern Island. Luckily the scenery is still enjoyable, as we see a couple of impressive mountains situated near lake Taupo: Mt. Ranpehu, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe. This last mountain featured in the Lord of the Rings movies as Mt. Doom. This region is well known for the vulcanic activity, and these mountains are in fact still considered to be active vulcanoes. Also the stories of Wes and Paul make sur...