Rotorua has somehow acquired the nickname Rotovegas (self given maybe?). However Rotorua is nothing like Las Vegas. There are no huge casinos, no flashy neon lights, and there is a lingering smell of sulphur. While that last sentence may not exactly be a draw for you to visit Rotorua, don’t let that fool you…..this place is awesome. It’s the center of Maori culture, has some amazing thermal sites, a beautiful lake, geothermal spas and it’s all located within the crater of a volcano. To be clear, that volcano erupted 140,000 years and was a monster: 300 times the size of the most recent Mount St Helens eruption. So given that it was such a huge volcano and was formed quite a while ago, you can fit a pretty decent sized city in the crater. From a view of a few stories up, you can see the defined ridge line of volcano as well.
We spent Friday and Saturday in Rotorua, but there were enough interesting activities that we could have been entertained for a longer stay. First stop was Te Puia (thank you Jerry McGaghey for the recommendation), a Maori village showcasing their cultural performances/concert, wood crafting, weaving, and general history. The name of this individual village is te whakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao. Anyone want to give a shot at pronouncing that? Me neither, here is a little instruction from a local: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLdtEq5UERw. The village is surrounded by thermal activity which we will tackle in the next post. The cultural performance was a highlight with an authentic welcoming ceremony inside a Maori meeting house (wharenui). Their performance ranged from the haka (warrior dance performed before battles to intimidate the opponent) to an old Maori love song that chronicled the love between a chief’s daughter and an illegitimate warrior. Te Puia also has a kiwi (the bird) viewing area. First time we’ve had the opportunity to see a live kiwi. They are an odd bird, kind of round with thickly set feathers that look more like fur and a protruding beak. Plus they cant fly and only come out at night. 
The Rotorua museum also didn’t disappoint. Located in a beautiful reconstructed bath house, they were celebrating the opening of an entire new wing this weekend. Of course they had a large section dedicated to the Maori, history on Rotorua as a spa destination, and the impact of the 1886 volcanic eruption in the area. The Rotovegas nickname was explained here as it’s from Rotorua’s many concerts and festivals that are held in the city and the handful of entertainers that grew up there. Still not buying into the comparison, but as we’ve found out, New Zealand towns love to play up whatever significance they have. For example….
We drove through Matamata, which is effectionally knows as Hobbiton. As in the Lord of the Rings Hobbits, or if you’ve seen the movie, the home of the Shire. We stopped and lingered around the small town. Enjoyed the Gollum statue in the middle of town, and decided the $58 two hour tour of the Shire was a little rich for us. Moving on….We also stopped in the Kiwifruit capital of the WORLD! Yes, we were there, and have the pictures to prove it. Te Puke (rhymes with cookie) is where you go to get your kiwifruit. The rich volcanic soil and heavy rainfall have made this little town the perfect place to grow my favorite superfruit. More vitamin c than an orange, loads of fiber, potassium and antioxidants. This is truly a superfruit, and they taste really good.
Check back tomorrow for a post about the Wai-o-Tapu, The Thermal Wonderland and the thermal activity at Te Puia.
Check out additional photographs here: https://picasaweb.google.com/114612877246919085926/TePuiaCultural#
Oh boy, I hope you have all these names written down somewhere! Looks interesting, glad you're learning so much about their culture. That first photo is just a tad scary!
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