Woke early and Sam kindly drove me to Magic bus's headquarters in Auckland where we were met by our driver Ritchie and loaded on the bus which would be our mode of transport for the next 3 days. Sam and I wished each other Happy Birthday quickly before saying goodbye. After completing the otehr pick-ups of the day we climbed to the top of Mount Eden (in the bus) and walked around the dormant volcano crater with Guy and Crystal. Guy is a S. African working in IT in London for the past 4 years and Crystal is a dental hygienist from Pembroke, Ontario. On our way to Waitomo caves Ritchie gave a comical and informative running commentary about the things that we passed. On arrival at Waitomo caves we got kitted up to go black-water rafting in wet-suits, wellies and helmets.
We got bussed out to the start of the trip where we got given a rubber tyre each. We had to go down a few steps to get into the caves. The most amazing sight was seeing glow worms once we'd turned off our helmet-lights. They drop down silky tails in order to catch passing flies which are attracted to their fluorescent lightbulb stomachs. The tour guides were funny and we sung some kareoke songs as we floated along the water filled caves. We showered and had some soup before getting on the way again.
Rotorua is built around a maze of hot springs which pop out of the ground at various places. We were immediately picked up from the hostel by Ngata who would be our driver on the way to the Maori village of Tamaki, near Rotorua where we'd spend the evening. During the evening we were welcomed, taught, sung to and fed by the very friendly maori traditionalists. Part of the Maori culture is to teach their traditions to younger generations including Maoris from the big towns. The highlight of the evening was the show performed in the meeting house which was moving and well-performed.
The hangi (pron. hungy) was also delicious and a fitting end to a good evening.
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Sam Edgecombe
PhD Student
Postal address: Klosterängsvägen 5C:23, 22647, Lund, Sweden
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