On our second day in Rotorua, we awoke to a seriously pungent bad egg smell, and hundreds upon thousands of flies buzzing around the van. It was time to find a new car park. After some aimless driving around, we found a place called Kuirau Park – an area of parkland boasting numerous geothermal sights, such as pools of bubbling mud, steaming lakes ... and ... er ... more pools of bubbling mud. The view from the car park wasn't quite as picturesque as the last one, but there were few flies and the smell was much better. The only downside was the small chance of a volcanic eruption coating the whole area in stinking boiling sulphuric mud. The last one was in 2003.
We left our van in the danger area, and spent the rest of the morning and afternoon checking out the sights in and around the city centre. Rotorua, because of it's geothermal activity, is a city of great significance to the Maori people. As such there are many traditional Maori buildings and objects of art around the place, including carvings, statues, meeting houses (called maraes) and even the odd totem pole.
Having explored the city during the day, we continued to pile on the culture, by signing up for the Mitai Maori Cultural Experience that evening. We were picked up and driven a few miles out of Rotorua, to the Mitai farm, where we were deposited at a table in large dining room. After about half an hour (during which time we were supposed to take ample advantage of the bar) an enormous Maori, looking like a cross between an sumo wrestler and an All Blacks rugby player, appeared and explained how we were to be entertained that evening. He seemed very pleasant, but we still decided to keep our distance in case he fancied eating us.
After the preamble, we were led into a forest behind the dining room, past an incredible clear water natural spring, and to the banks of a river, where we waited. Soon we heard strange chanting noises around us, and every so often we caught a glimpse of half naked Maoris creeping around in the bushes near us. The chanting then became louder as a Maori war canoe, or waka, chock full of more near-naked Maoris eased into view downriver. The canoe went through a number of manoeuvres, accompanied by more chants and shouts, while we watched from the bank. Then the canoe landed, and the crew disembarked – all save for the most-naked of the Maoris, who decided to wade up river carrying a torch. All very strange … entertaining, but strange.
Following this display, we were led to a sort of arena, where a covered seating area faced an open stage, decked out to look like a Maori village. We sat down, and shortly after were shown the traditional songs and dances of a meeting ritual, when one tribe comes to visit another. First there are exhibitions of weaponry from the tribe's best warriors – basically a lot of very impressive spear and club waving. Then the tribe chieftains exchange token gifts – in this case silver fern leaves were used, a very significant Maori symbol. The silver fern was used in navigation when Maori tribes conducted night raids, since the underside of the leaf shows up very well in the dark, and can be used to point in the required direction of travel or attack, without the need for speech. It is also utilised as the icon for the All Blacks rugby team.
After this there was a lot of singing and dancing, involving a variety of musical instruments and, naturally, some chanting. One of the most impressive parts of these displays were the poi dances. The poi are small balls of flax attached to string, which the Maori women swing around their heads and bodies in time to the song. The patterns they create are incredible, but they also hit various parts of their body with the poi in time to the song, so creating a percussive accompaniment.
To end the show, the tribe showed us how they train to use their weapons, as well as a few displays of one on one fighting. They then did the famous war cry, the haka, complete with bulging eyes, poked out tongue, and strange primal shouts. Great stuff.
Finally came the part we were all waiting for. Food! We were led back to the dining room, where a traditional hangi, awaited us. A hangi is a huge feast, prepared by burying sacks of raw food in a hole filled with very hot pre-heated stones. The food is left to slow cook over a number of hours, then served still piping hot to the ravenous hordes. Our meal consisted of some chicken, some salad, lots of kumara (New Zealand sweet potatoes), and huge amounts of delicious tender lamb served with mint sauce. It was awesome. We barely had room for the chocolate cake to finish ...
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