The Haka and Kiwi Birds ... can't get anymore New Zealand !

Me and Pops were first up as usual but Mam was very close behind, followed by Ben. We had a brew at Camp Kitchen before heading back to Eddie for breakfast.

Ben took to the wheel first and we drove south on the ‘1’ towards Rotorua. It didn’t take us long to get to Cambridge where we stopped for a wee. It was home to corrugated stuff so we had a photo by the corrugated shepherd, dog and sheep!!

Another 50 kms and we arrived at Rotorua. We drove through the town and called into the I-Site where we booked Te Puia for that afternoon. After sorting out the tickets we drove down to Lake Rotorua to watch the black swans. We enjoyed our t-cakes and crisps.

Afterwards we drove to the campsite and checked in before parking up. We then walked 5 minutes round the corner to the Thermal Park Te Puia.

We’d made it in time for the guided tour by ‘Rhyll’ our Maori/Welsh guide! She was really good and informative, you could tell she loved her job. She showed us how the Maoris weave their clothes and she even started weaving Dad a ‘mini’ skirt!

We even got to see a Carving School and see some 1st year students making awesome carvings. Everything is so intricate and they were all using hand tools.... such a skill. Outside there was a Maori Boat which the students had made, really nice to see.

We then got to see the weaving school and see all the things they make. They even weave flowers, so clever! We were even told the feathers in the outfits are all weaved in by hand.... one by one!!

The next part was my favourite, we got to see real live KIWI BIRDS!!!! 2 of them, boy and girl.... so cool!! They were a lot bigger than what I thought. They were behind glass in a darkened room, because they are nocturnal. They were just sniffing about, so cute! Here’s a fact for you, the kiwi bird is in the same family as the emu and the ostrich...... FACT!!

We then walked out of these and towards the Prince of Wales Feather Geyser. We were lucky as it was spurting when we got there. It was HUGE. We got some photos and even Rhyll took one of all of us.

As we’d booked to watch the concert we had to leave the guided tour there and walk back to the Meeting Place. We were greeted by a Maori lady, dressed in the traditional clothing. She explained what would be happening, that the warriors would appear from the Meeting Place and a Conche (a shell) would sound. They would then talk to each other before the Warrior would come down to the chosen ‘Chief’ before giving them a leaf and welcoming us all into the Meeting Place. A man was chosen from the audience and taken to the front and given instructions on what to do when the warrior approached him.

Next thing about 3 woman and 5 men came out of the Meeting Place, all in the traditional clothing. The Conche was sounded and the singing began. Next thing the Warrior started moving forward, towards the Chief. It was quite frightening the way he was moving forward and waving his stick. It was eye contact all the way, so cool to see. He then produced the leaf and gave it to the Chief, welcoming us into the Place. We all moved forward slowly before removing our shoes and entering the building.

The building was so lovely, all hand carved with Maori Designs. We sat in the chairs and the show began. We heard lovely Maori songs and saw the instruments they use. We then got a close up of the Haka, so cool! It is quite unnerving to see it that close but I tried to keep eye contact all the time.... hard to do that with a man that big waving his arms and eyes bulging in front of you! Cool to see it though. We then listened to some more songs and dance routines before it finishing.

We still had time to walk around the Thermal Park. We got to see some mud pools and caves. The rocks were orange/yellow because of the sulphur. The smell was really strong but apparently it’s really good for sinuses!! After a few dead ends we arrived back at the exit, where a 5 minutes walk later we were back with ‘Eddie’.

Me and Mam sorted out the washing, whilst Ben and Dad sorted out the soup for tea and made up the table. We’re now sitting watching telly enjoying a beer, ready for a night in before the lad’s busy day tomorrow!!