Rotorua
A surf board purchase called for a road trip to Rotorua (to pick it up!) and a surf trip in Raglan.
Misty Rotorua.
Rotorua Market gems.
While perusing the markets, a stranger asked Scott to take her dog, "Prince Albert" on a walk while she manned her table. This is the kind of thing that happens in New Zealand.
Where we woke up on Day 3.
View from my van.
Note the tiny specks of surfers.
The few days before New Years Eve, Sandy and I made our way from Rotorua (a town of geothermal wonders that smells like rotten eggs due to the sulfur but you get used to it) to Mount Manganui (a gorgeous little beach city that's now one of my favorite places).
Hot mud pools. Or something like that.
Adorable reminders to keep left on the road.
Picnicking at the Mount.
Sandy and Mount Maunganui.
Sandy has quite a small head and I have quite a large head so together we kind of look like circus freaks. She has to stand about 1 foot in front of me in order to even it out as we did not do here.
FUN FACT: The Mount is actually an extinct volcanic cone.
We had a couple of lovely picnic and ice cream filled beach days there making it the best volcanic cone yet.
While in Rotorua, Sandy and I went to the Tamaki Maori Village for an authentic New Zealand cultural experience.
The Maori's are the indigenous people of New Zealand and like Native Americans in the US or Aboriginals in Australia, they have very sensitive and complex history with the European settlers and have struggled to keep their culture alive. Racism certainly exists in New Zealand and the Maori people also deal with many economic and social obstacles so I was bit concerned that this "must see" tourist experience would wind up being campy and culturally offensive. Luckily, I was wrong and it was awesome.
The Tamaki Village was founded by two Maori brothers. One sold his motorcycle to fund the venture and it's gone on to become the most award winning village in NZ, portraying the history and the traditional spirit quite realistically.
About 15% of NZ's population identify as Maori and about a fifth of those have kept the language alive and well. There's definitely a Maori influence in all parts of New Zealand culture, tribal tattoos are quite popular among everyone (even face tattoos! Which is always a surprise to see in grocery store), much of the Maori craftsmanship is featured in jewelry and their national rubgy team, the All Blacks, do the Haka (the traditional warrior dance) at the start of every match.
When doing the Haka warrior dance, you make your eyes wide, stick out your tongue and yell to intimidate others. I plan to use this method if I find myself cornered in a dark alley way or on a bad date.
We learned about ancient ceremonies, Maori words ("kia ora" means "hi") and experienced a bit of their original lifestyle, warrior traditions and music. The best part was the authentic Hangi, the giant meal that's cooked for several hours using heated rocks in a pit oven deep in the earth. It was like a Maori Thanksgiving. There was even stuffing. That may not have been historically accurate but it was delicious.
