Rotorua

On Saturday, Reagan (the daughter in my host family) and I went to the Frankton Market. It was kind of like going to the fair and walking through the booths. I got some sweet necklaces and a new bag. That afternoon I met up with all the USU students (except the one who met us there) and we drove down to Rotorua. It is like the tourist capitol of New Zealand. It is also very energetic, there is a volcanic river that runs under the city and has hot springs every where, but they are nto the kind you would bath in they are upwards of 100 degrees celcius. It smells badly of sulfur too. We stopped and watched ZORBING, it looks like so much fun, I kind of want to try it. The main event of the evening was going to the authentic/tourist attraction the Tamaki Maaori Village. They did a big reenactment of a part of their history, and there was a formal welcoming (pawhiri) that was more tradtional that mst you will go to, but it is all for show. After the pawhiri we walked through their village and took pictures with the Maaori people who were part of the reenactment. The man who was playing the rouge warrior (very handsome) let us take a picture with him. He was very funny about being taller than me. After the picture he turned to the man playing the chief and told him he found five new wives for him, meaning me and my friends. It was very funny. We had a great traditional meal called hangi. They heat rocks and then use the rocks as a base and put the food on the rocks. Then they put water on the rocks and quickly cover the food in linen, and then cover the linen with sack cloth and burry it. To do hangi it takes like 7 hours. It is kia pai. We had a great time in Rotorua, I would have liked to spend more time there, but oh well I may get a chance to go ZORBING sometime while I am here.