Kia Ora!

The Maori evening was fabulous! Our tour left from downtown Rotorua and for the 15 minute bus ride we were taught some Maori vocabulary (“Kia Ora” means hello, welcome, greetings, enter, etc.), history and cultural cues. When we arrived at the site, we were greeted with an aggressive display of weaponry and facial expressions designed to intimidate the visitor. This is how the Maori tribes greeted each other for hundreds of years. After we were “accepted” by the host tribe, we were allowed to wander through the village and see the huts and lifestyles of the Maori. In the meeting hall, we were entertained by song, dance and more weaponry displays. Absolutely fascinating! Finally, we were taken into the dining hall for our feast which consisted of lamb, chicken, baked potatoes, and other, unrecognizable foods. There was a stuffing-like concoction that didn’t quite please my palate, but that lamb was sure tasty!

Yesterday, we visited Paradise Valley Springs Animal Park. This was indeed a highlight so far, despite the misty rain. We purchased a couple of bags of food pellets and began our walk through the park. There were many pools of trout, and a wide stream filled (and I mean FILLED) with wild trout. Michael liked feeding them and watching the swarming fish fight for the pellets! Just as we were getting low on pellets, we rounded a corner and discovered the wallabies. They are about a foot tall and so soft and adorable looking! A couple of them saw us and hopped right up to the edge of the fence. They knew we had food which they ate right out of our hands! We ran out of pellets fast, so Michael went back to the shop to get two more bags! He was so happy and excited when feeding those little cuties. We counted nine wallabies in total. What we didn’t know until we had finished seeing the whole park was that three of those nine were new mothers and had babies in their pouches. I wish we’d seen the little ones!

We then drove to the Skyline Skyrides. This is a gondola that takes you up a small mountain. Unfortunately, it was still raining lightly and the visibility wasn’t that great. However, at the top of ride we found the Luge track. This is a three track system (scenic, intermediate and advanced) of winding cement paths that run part way downhill. At the bottom, you take a chairlift back up to the top of the track. You ride on a sled-like luge that sits low on the ground. We bought four rides each and boy was that fun! Even in the rain! In fact it was probably better because there weren’t many other people riding so we almost had the whole place to ourselves. The only drawback was that we got a little wet (okay, so we got a LOT wet). But it was definitely worth it. I believe this was Michael’s favourite day on our trip so far. And don’t worry; we went straight back to the hotel afterward and changed into dry clothes!