… lunch and beyond!
We went to the Distinction Hotel in Rotorua for a Maori lunch and show. The pronunciation of Maori ranges from MOW-ree to MAR-ree, depending on the speaker – the Maoris themselves say MOW-ree. There was a lovely buffet with traditional and non-traditional Maori fare. Unfortunately, just as the show got underway and everyone began eating, the extremely loud and persistent fire alarm sounded and we had to leave the building. The good-natured performers didn’t miss a beat; they continued their show in the parking lot! Extreme facial expressions are a big part of the Maori tradition; first encounters with strangers typically consisted of trying to scare them away by looking ferocious. Of course the protruding tongues could also have had something to do with the not-so-distant Maori history of cannabalism…
On our way to Te Puia, after lunch, we passed beautiful Victorian homes.
Te Puia is New Zealand’s Maori Cultural Centre, home of the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, which includes the National Wood Carving School, and the National Weaving School. Specially chosen young people from different tribes are brought together at Te Puia to learn Maori arts and crafts. Our guide demonstrated how to make a grass skirt from flax leaves, and how to make an unbreakable rope from just a few carefully twisted flax fibers. As she showed us, the fibers must be rolled along the leg to twist them properly.
We visited Te Puia’s kiwi house, seeing several kiwis roaming their dark enclosure; because they are nocturnal birds all kiwi displays are dimly lit. Once again, no photos were allowed.
Then we visited the thermal mud pools and geysers. It was a surreal landscape of smoking rocks, boiling mud, and spouting geysers. Steam billowed from hundreds of fissures in the rocks. Bright yellow sulfur deposits highlighted the vents.
As we sailed away from Tauranga that evening, Frank captured a magnificent sunset from our veranda to end a long and lovely day!
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