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On Monday morning, I started on a plane trip up to Rotorua that was supposed to get me there by 4:50, but things were odd from the start. The shuttle bus was a little late, so Rowan and I waited in the cold outside my flat worrying that I'd miss my flight in an hour and just as we were getting ready to call them up it pulls. So in I go for the half hour ride to the airport talking to Octavia from the Tolkien Society who's heading home to the North Island for her break. We arrive at the airport and I discover my flights late, which confuses my schedule since I'm hopping all over New Zealand to get to Rotorua, Dunedin to Christchurch to Wellington to Rotorua. First we learn that Air New Zealand's computer system is down on the South Island meaning that check in is manual and will take a while. I check in around 12 and they put me on a different flight from Christchurch and check my bag through to Rotorua. I eat a late lunch with Octavia and around 12:30 get on the plane and head to Christchurch. Arrive in Christchurch and have to check in again so have a fun wait and bit of confusion as we're manually checked in. We arrive in Wellington five minutes after I thought my next flight was leaving. I run to the gate and check in there, find out that its running late and I would have been fine if I'd just gone to the check out desk. Oh well, I finally arrive in Rotorua where I'm greeted by the smell of sulphur and discover there's no atm and I have to pay for a shuttle. Slight confusion as I get cash out and arrive at Kaa's.
I'm welcomed by this wonderful woman, who serves me dinner and we drink a glass of wine together. I'm sleeping upstairs in a big guest room with many beds, she calls it her family dorm. She goes to bed at 7 and we agree to meet in the morning so I can help her with some catering on the marae and then I read about Captain Cook until I finish my book. I started it in Dunedin and finished it in Rotorua and I recommend, Captain Cook by Jessica Collingridge for an interesting take on this great explorer and his achievements.
Next morning I wake up to a grey day around 7, take a warm shower and head downstairs to talk with Kaa as she makes pikelets, mini pancakes. Then we head over to the marae, which is the Maori community centre, church and meeting house area. We meet with some wonderful 70 year old Maori women, who are caterering for a retreat of youth group leaders in the area. We spend an hour or so putting jam and whipped cream on pikelets, having tea and biscuits and feeling welcomed. We listen to the welcoming speeches, Kaa gets me to particpate in their meet and greet exercise and then she shows me the church, St Faiths, that's a beautiful Anglican church with Maori carving and a truly holy place. She then drops me at the tourism centre since she has plans for the afternoon. I debate what to do and then splurge and head to Hell's Gate, http://www.hellsgate.co.nz, a thermal area, where it rains and the wind blows and I see a hot water, waterfall, a mud volcano and bubbling earth and water. Then I have an indulgent spa experience, I sit in mud for 20 minutes with rain falling on me then wash it off with freezing cold water, then sit in sulphur books feeling slowly boiled and lovely, then I have an amazing traditional massage by this older Maori woman. With lovely Maori music in the back and her strong hands pushing the stress out of almost every muscle of my body by the end I feel relaxed and at peace. I have some food in the cafe and they drive me back to Kaa's. Where I tell her about my day and she tells me she didn't know that much about what they did at Hells Gate. Then a nice dinner and bed with a book about Australia from Kaa's collection.
This morning I slept in and we went our seperate ways for the day since Kaa has appointments in the morning and afternoon. I went to the Rotorua museum in the old bath house and get some history and a nice brunch. Then I plan what I'll do tonight since Rotorua is a centre for Maori culture, tonight I'm going to an experience, feast, performance and glowworms at http://www.mitai.co.nz. I'm looking forward to it since I had a good discussion with the lady at the tourism place of which of many to do. After that I went for a walk through the gardens and along Lake Rotorua watching birds and just enjoying the fac that the sun decided to come out. Now I'm sitting in a cafe after wanderering souvenir shops, talking to Rowan and having a tea and muffin. Life is good and tommorow, Kaa and I are off to Tauranga to get her car serviced and hopefully have lunch with her daughter. More updates later. So I'm curious to see what I'll find tonight since its always an odd balance when people share their culture with you. When are you trespassing and how are you helping?
I'm welcomed by this wonderful woman, who serves me dinner and we drink a glass of wine together. I'm sleeping upstairs in a big guest room with many beds, she calls it her family dorm. She goes to bed at 7 and we agree to meet in the morning so I can help her with some catering on the marae and then I read about Captain Cook until I finish my book. I started it in Dunedin and finished it in Rotorua and I recommend, Captain Cook by Jessica Collingridge for an interesting take on this great explorer and his achievements.
Next morning I wake up to a grey day around 7, take a warm shower and head downstairs to talk with Kaa as she makes pikelets, mini pancakes. Then we head over to the marae, which is the Maori community centre, church and meeting house area. We meet with some wonderful 70 year old Maori women, who are caterering for a retreat of youth group leaders in the area. We spend an hour or so putting jam and whipped cream on pikelets, having tea and biscuits and feeling welcomed. We listen to the welcoming speeches, Kaa gets me to particpate in their meet and greet exercise and then she shows me the church, St Faiths, that's a beautiful Anglican church with Maori carving and a truly holy place. She then drops me at the tourism centre since she has plans for the afternoon. I debate what to do and then splurge and head to Hell's Gate, http://www.hellsgate.co.nz, a thermal area, where it rains and the wind blows and I see a hot water, waterfall, a mud volcano and bubbling earth and water. Then I have an indulgent spa experience, I sit in mud for 20 minutes with rain falling on me then wash it off with freezing cold water, then sit in sulphur books feeling slowly boiled and lovely, then I have an amazing traditional massage by this older Maori woman. With lovely Maori music in the back and her strong hands pushing the stress out of almost every muscle of my body by the end I feel relaxed and at peace. I have some food in the cafe and they drive me back to Kaa's. Where I tell her about my day and she tells me she didn't know that much about what they did at Hells Gate. Then a nice dinner and bed with a book about Australia from Kaa's collection.
This morning I slept in and we went our seperate ways for the day since Kaa has appointments in the morning and afternoon. I went to the Rotorua museum in the old bath house and get some history and a nice brunch. Then I plan what I'll do tonight since Rotorua is a centre for Maori culture, tonight I'm going to an experience, feast, performance and glowworms at http://www.mitai.co.nz. I'm looking forward to it since I had a good discussion with the lady at the tourism place of which of many to do. After that I went for a walk through the gardens and along Lake Rotorua watching birds and just enjoying the fac that the sun decided to come out. Now I'm sitting in a cafe after wanderering souvenir shops, talking to Rowan and having a tea and muffin. Life is good and tommorow, Kaa and I are off to Tauranga to get her car serviced and hopefully have lunch with her daughter. More updates later. So I'm curious to see what I'll find tonight since its always an odd balance when people share their culture with you. When are you trespassing and how are you helping?
