Haka, Hangi, and Hot Springs

We are fortunate enough to be invited to a Maori celebration which includes music - an older family member who sings and plays a mean clarinet - dancing, and feasting. We get to see the legs of lamb and whole chickens and sweet potatoes that have been buried underground and cooked with hot stones.

We walk into the forest and pass a clear pool of fizzing springs, then come to the river where the warriors in their canoe paddle down and greet us. They lead us to their village, and begin to tell us stories, interspersed with dance and song. They tell of the way they used to live, on this land, with fish from the sea, and vegetables and fruit from the forest. Each child knew her or his name and where s/he fit into the village and into his or her extended family. The women taught the girls their lore, and the men taught the boys how to hunt. 

As they grew, they tattooed their bodies with the stories of their families and their history. The women wear the owl tattoo under their mouths, to signify wisdom.

The women demonstrate their dexterity with a dance involving heavy balls on the ends of long strings. The men demonstrate their fierceness with the traditional haka dance, used to inspire fear in the enemy.

The feast is as delicious as it looks and smells...the traditional New Zealand lamb is a treat. Dessert is a Pavlova, which I think is a very British meringue type dessert ... so, a new tradition.

After dinner, we walk back into the forest, and see the glowworms shining around the spring. Tiny dots of light in the darkness. Then we do a night walk to see if we will see the elusive kiwi....and we do. Such strange creatures...almost more mammalian than avian. They look like fat soccer balls of fur, with funny legs and a very long beak, like a long straw. They have two ovaries, large ear holes, and other mammalian features. 

www.chemistry.co.nz/kiwibird.htm 

 After such excitement, it's off to the Hot Springs for a couple of hours of mineral soaking. Most of the springs in Rotorua sit next to the lake which is a bird sanctuary. How lovely to float in the water and see all the gulls and terns. The second day in the Springs it is cold and raining...a delicious feeling to be so hot and then have the rain cool your face and head. 

Rotorua, the town, is clearly geared towards the tourist industry. There are lots of 'adventure parks' offering different activities, like Zorbing, a new Kiwi invention where you roll down a hill inside a large plastic ball which is inside another large plastic ball...I know, I know! Totally bizarre, right? Remember, this is the country that invented bungee jumping!  

Most of the people I see who are not tourists, are Maori...Rotorua is also the central homeland of the Maori people.