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Kia Ora (Hello in Maori) Everyone,
So an 8.30am start greeted us in our four man dorm the fellow English travellers Katie and Richard after our action packed day in the caves. Everyone had slept like babies after a few beers in the bar and the adrenaline had worn off.
We set off in our green Kiwi Experience coach for the town of Rotorua. After a short time we checked into our hostel in the town centre there was the option to go 'luging' which Nikki and I both thought would be great fun. The bus took half the group to the bottom of a large hill facing the lake. We boarded a cable car to the top where we had our first chance to see what we had let ourselves in for. For people who don't know luging is where you drive your own cart powered purely by gravity down a very large hill, negotiating tight turns and racing each other. The luge itself was like a small go-cart with bike handle bars for turning and also used for breaking by pulling them towards you. It was brilliant fun, we had to first complete a beginners run to learn the controls. We all picked it up quickly so headed for the intermediate and advanced runs. On the last run we decided to race so after collecting our luge and heading to the track we all lined up. Our bus driver joined in as well and completely thrashed all of us (someone has done luging far too many times before!). It was a great way to spend the afternoon in the run.
In the evening we went to the Tamaki Maori Village where learnt about Maori culture, ways of life and also were given a traditional meal. On the bus to the village we had to choose a leader for our tribe, he would then have to complete a challenge to determine if we were friends of foes. The whole experience was brilliant; we took part in poi dancing, weaponry displays and were taught the haka. After we were served a buffet of traditionally prepared food cooked in a hangi (steamed in the ground over hot rocks). The food was amazing and we all went up for seconds and desserts. We all over did the eating as felt ready to burst on the bus back to the hostel. As a group we went out for a few drinks at nights as a couple of people (including Nikki and I) were staying in Rotura longer and therefore leaving the group. The night didn't last long with a lot of people struggling with very full stomachs.
The next three days we spent seeing the sights that Rotorua had to offer. Richard from our bus also stayed with us as he had time to kill before continuing his trip. We visited the museum and grounds in the heart of the town. They were beautiful with bowls greens, rose gardens and steaming mud pools (Nikki brought a mud mask to pamper herself). We also visited the thermal park opposite our hostel. Rotorua is unusual town with steam coming out of the ground in all directions (not like New York from the sub-way grates). There are boiling pools of mud and water all over the place filling the air with the smell of sulphur (egg). It was amazing to see these pools in the middle of housing estates with pipes tapped into them connected to family outdoor baths.
Next stop Taupo, from Rotorua with love.
Ben and Nikki xx
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