Land of the long white cloud

New Zealand´s north island has a lot of underground thermal activity and there are numerous sites dedicated to geothermal occurences. En route to Rotorua we passed Waiotapa thermal wonderland and decided to pay it a visit, mainly to see the ´Lady Knox' geyser famous for its 10.15am spouting. Left alone the geyser would spurt naturally every few days but by adding a little soap to it the park is able to ensure it only happens at the advertised time and as such can charge visitors $25 each for seeing the spetcacle. A few minutes before 10.15am as the audience eagerly waited a man appeared in the fenced off area surrounding the geyser, he was miked up and proceeded to tell us about the geysers history before adding the not-so-secret ingredient. At first foamy water began to trickle down the side, like an overflowing bath, the MC hadn´t yet finished his spiel (including bad jokes such as "I'm a geezer, this a geyser") and made an effort to slow it down (which consisted of hitting it with the empty soap packet and didn´t really work). About a minute later the geyser blew, with water spurting skywards, nearby people moving and a rainbow appearing as the sunlight hit the water. All pretty impressive though seeing one go without the soap and crowds would be more so (though harder to find).

Next stop were the mud pools, where a large pond of mud boiled and bubbled heated only by the underground heat, it was amusing to see so many grown adults giggling at the plopping sounds the mud made as it seemed to belch out of the pool. The final and largest section of the site took us on a 3km walk of sometimes very smelly sulphur pools and mineral waters ranging from beige to brown, yellow, orange and green.

Rotorua´s YHA was alsmost empty (maybe it was the kitchen´s cockroaches that scared everyone off) though we did meet Tracey, also from England and a sign language translator with whom we spent the evening chatting. The area of Rotorua has a large Maori population and a number of companies offering a glimpse of their culture. On our second and final night in we headed off on the ´Mitai´ night (the name coming from the family that runs the tour). Our first impressions were good when John, our friendly driver, turned up, made us laugh and then turned out to be the compere. On arrival at Mitai we were sent to tables and the 80 or so diners were told we needed to choose a leader for our tribe, an Australian guy jumped and elected himself, John then proceeded to work out how many nations were present in the room, and after discovering there were 16, from as far afield as Europe, India and South America, with greetings in all languages, our esteemed leader took us outside to meet the Maoris.

We ended up stood on the banks of a river, which forms part of the Mitai land, where a canoe being rowed by 6 Maori warriors (wearing traditional outfits consisting of animal skins and lots of bare flesh as well as moko - traditional tattoos - over their bodies and faces) appeared. The Maoris then made their way to their village, which was set up on stage so we could sit in the audience.

Some of the traditional war crys and dances the Maori did seemed quite intimidating and our ´brave´leader lost some of his initial bravado as he tried to make a speech asking for the tribe to accept us and allow us into their village. What followed was a succession of dances and chants, included the famous haka, all done in a really entertaining and humerous way, at one point the Maori chief told us 'you clap now' and after we clapped 'yep we speak English'. The actors were really going for it and during the Haka some ended up slapping themselves so hard they left bright red hand prints on their bodies.

The entertainment left us hungry and the 'Hangi' (meat and veg cooked in the ground over hot river stones) didn´t dissappoint, the lamb and chicked was so soft, with a slight smokey taste whilst my personal favourite was some potatoes soaked in cream and browned on top, even dessert was good though I'm not sure how authentic chocolate swiss rolls and trifle are!

The final part of the night involved 'Tui' taking us out to a spring where eels swam and a colony of glow worms were embedded in the banks. We then walked into the bush where Tui asked us "say Mamatuka" (and other Maori words) before answering "here it is" and showing us the plant she was referring to.

Our next stop was Mt Maunganui, a settlement north of Rotorua and a few hours away from Auckland. It´s a lovely place with a huge hill dominating the coastline. Walking up Mt Maunganui gave us great views over the area and the adjoining town of Tauranga. Over fish and chips that evening (they grill the fish and it´s so much that nicer than fish and chips in England) we decided to get up early the next day and catch the sunrise. The very East coast of New Zealand claims to be the first place in the world to see the sun rise each day and Mt Maunganui was as close as we were going to get to it, thankfully it happens at 6.50am at the is time of year so at 6.15am we walked along the beautiful beach to a vantage point slightly up Mt Maunganui to watch the sky change from black to blue as the sun made its ascent. It really was stunning and a local guy summed it up as he walked by us "another great day in paradise eh?"

With the early start we made a quick get away to Auckland where we had arranged to meet Brenda and Dennis (my Mum´s aunt and uncle who had moved over in the 1970´s) they actually live in Tauranga but by chance were going to be in Auckland at the same time as us. We dropped Kevin Spacey off stinking of vinegar as a jar of pickles had opened in our food bag and got a lift to where we were staying only to find out the supermarket we needed to go to was a 20 minute walk and right beside the rental place...doh!

After a frantic dash to the shops we met Brenda and Dennis, headed out for coffees and arranged to meet the following day and be shown the sights of Auckland. That evening in the hostel we met a guy from Russia who had been deaf and mute since a baby and despite this had amazingly managed to travel the world for the last 7 years all on motorbike, getting by purely on donations, fortunately Tracey from Rotorua was on hand to help out with the signing.

The following day we met Brenda and Dennis again and went on a whistle stop tour of the wintergardens, 'one tree hill' (where a Maori fort was located) which afforded fantastic views over the city and should really be called 'none tree hill' as it has been chopped down by a local, had a bowl of latte (sort of like a soup bowl filled with coffee and a New Zealand speciality) and saw some areas of Auckland we would have missed by ourselves before heading to their son Mike´s house where we ate dinner and met family members I have never met before. We had a lovely day, I guess sometimes it can be awkward meeting family you don´t really know but Brenda and Dennis made us feel so welcome it was never an issue.

Auckland has the largest tower in the Southern hemisphere and no visit should be without a ride to the top, the view is great and standing in the highest point allows you to walk over a glass window with views down to the city below. Standing on the glass made me feel a bit sick and any plans we had to 'jump the tower' were shelved. We had a stroll through the trendy areas of town K Road and Ponsonby where cafes and bars dominate the streets but as it was a Sunday many of the quirky looking shops were closed.

Our final night day in Auckland rained and we spent it preparing for the next leg of our trip, before heading to a Japanese restaurant for dinner and then the 'London' pub where an open mic night was in session. The evening was hosted by a lady called Penny Ashton who does a stand up show in New Zealand which looks pretty funny, she performed a lot of poems and was actually quite good, especially when compared to the people who had decided to share there talent (or not) with the bar. A guy that looked and sounded like Borat sang, as did two tone deaf people, we were sat right at the front squirming in our seats and desperately trying not to laugh.

New Zealand has been great, the scenery is fantastic, we got to meet up with family we know well (Matt's family) and family we never knew in Auckland and had some great experiences with whales, dolphins and penguins. Both Australia and New Zealand have been comfortable to travel and we are looking forward to the change that will face us in South America.

Next stop Santiago.....

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