Rotorua to Taupo

Two days to catch up on.....

A couple of general thoughts first.  I'll never think of "Australia and New Zealand"  lumped together again.  They're so different.  Although it's not tropical,  NZ has much more of South Pacific Island identity (at least the North Island does).

New Zealanders are very friendly.  They are, however, impatient drivers - very quick to use their horns (with each other, not just us because we're being tourists) and add a gesture which is, I presume, like flipping someone the bird.  They don't conform to the "orderly Aussie" mode of behavior at all - they cross the street any old place they feel like it, just like home!

Anyhow, yesterday we spent the morning and early afternoon at the Rotorua Museum.   It's in the elaborate building that used  to house world famous hot springs baths, where people came for various soaks - water and mud - for their curative powers.  You could go down in the basement to see the elaborate system of pipes that kept the place running.  Some of the bath and therapy chambers were still on the first floor and there was a great observation platform on the roof.  There was also a great movie about the history of the area and the volcanic eruption of the 1800's that destroyed much of the town.  This was complete with real eruption sounds and violently shaking seats.  The rest of the building was an art museum and a Maori cultural section, which was great.

Chilled at the campground for a while in the afternoon and Randy caught (and released) a beautiful rainbow trout .  

We spent the evening at the Tamaki Maori Village (reconstruction of a pre-European settlement).  We were shown and participated in games, ceremonies of welcome, songs, dances, and a "hangi" (huge meal cooked underground on hot rocks).  [Significance of facial tattoos or paint:  Women only had chins tattooed.  The tattoo showed your lineage, with father's on one side and mother's on the other.  If you we're directly related to the chief, you would have a tattoo up to the bridge of your nose as well.  Men also had their lineage on the chin.  Other tattoos on the face denoted particular skills of the individual.]

Today we headed south from Rotorua to Taupo.  On the way, we stopped at Wai-O-Tapu, an active thermal area.  Geyser, fumaroles, collapsed craters, and boiling mud pools.  The same "features" as Yellowstone, but in a very different "bush" setting.  We'd never seen mud pools quite as active as these.  They regularly shot up 6-7 feet in the air.

Our campground here has a thermal pool and we had a lovely soak before meeting up with John and Shelley for dinner.  After 5 weeks of travel, it was great to see familiar faces!  They are enjoying their trip and are headed the opposite direction in NZ, so we got some tips for the South Island.