Misa Edito:
The
glow-worm caves of
Waitomo- like little green sparkling fairies in the velvet black of night. Sadly, the only picture is of the boat at the end of the tunnel. But it is here, in this parking lot, that I got my first manual driving lesson (several circles of the parking lot and only stalling once!) And it's a good thing too... I nearly had to take over the driving! We were passing a truck (passing lanes are a luxury on those winding roads) and kiwi-kun revved up to 114km/hr to overtake the truck with ease. But as luck would have it, a cop was there with his radar gun to catch kiwi-kun (and Germain) in the act. And to add insult to injury... we couldn't find Germain's international license anywhere! And this was how Germain got his 1st speeding ticket- EVER! But the cop was nice enough to overlook the driving without the "appropriate" license (but not enough to forgive the speeding! :[) and so I was saved from a "learn while you drive" lesson... and kept to the parking lots ;)
That night we camped near the shores of
Lake Rotorua, and took in some
Maori culture with a walk through their private tribal land, amazing singing/music performances and a stone/earth cooked feast that was so good, over-eating was unavoidable!
The following day we were off for more Maori exposure... and ancient at that!
The Buried Village of Te Wairoa, where the bush walk ends at the Te Wairoa Falls.
Then it was off to experience some of the thermal region...
Hell's Gate. A peacock greeted our campervan as we pulled into the parking lot- the beautiful colors standing in opposition to the acrid smell of sulfur-dioxide, and the dull grey of volcanic and still thermal rock/mud. We capped the tour off with a hands-on-lesson in carving, Maori style, and a dip in a thermal mud bath. Like 2 little piggies we wallowed in the mud for 20 minutes and then soaked our campervan-ed bodies in the nearby mineral baths... aaahhhhhhh. Our skin may never have felt softer or smoother, but it's my sneaking suspicion that we've had better smelling days! :)
