Rotorua
We arrived in Rotorua at about 6.20pm but had signed up for the Maori Cultural Experience and Hangi. I decided to stay at the Base Hostel as the one in Auckland had been pretty good - I checked in quickly and raced off to the reception for the Maori night starting at 6.30. I arrived just in time but realised I had forgotten my Camera - Doh!
It was a strange start to the evening as no one knew what was going on. From the reception we were taken through into a garden then to a theatre where we watched a film about the first Moari settlers arriving by canoe to New Zealand. We had been given a driver name at reception and were wondering what this was for until we were led outside to the coaches.
We got on the coach and met our driver who was crackers - he was and Irish Maori and welcomed the coach in loads of different languages. We were then told that we were being driven out to a Maori Village deep in the forest. We had to elect a leader and we were briefed on how to behave when we reached the village and the Marae (meeting grounds).
We arrived at the gates of the village and even though it was still raining they looked impressive with fires burning all around. A toa (warrior) from the village came to meet our chief (and the other chiefs from the other coaches) whilst another warrior was chanting above the gates. We had to stand well back. The warrior was jumping around all over the place and shouting in Moari - pretty scarry! The warrior then placed a peace offering (Teka) on the floor and the chosen chief had to proceed slowly, pick up the offering, and walk slowly backwards to show we came in peace. The peace offering was successful and we were welcomed in to the village.
We walked through the village past huts and camp fires towards the Wharenui (The Meeting House). We then took our seats for the cultural performance (a bit like I had seen at Auckland Museum at the start of the New Zealand trip). There was a variety of songs and dances as well as a Haka. There was also the Poi and stick twirling.
After the performance we were shown through to the dining hall (Warekai). The food was gorgeous and had all been cooked in a Hangi (underground oven) - The traditional hangi meal has been under the earth on hot rocks for three to four hours. The rocks are heated to a white-hot state using native timber. They are then put into a pit dug in the earth. The baskets of meat (lamb and Chicken) are put directly on the hot stones, then the vegetable baskets and then the pudding basket on top of that. A wet cloth is placed over the food followed by wet hessian. Earth is then piled quickly over everything to keep the heat inside the earth oven. The kai (food) cooks slowly over several hours - a combination of smoking and steaming. They even had some of their own lager and beer which was spot on. After the meal we looked around the village and were shown how the food was cooked before returning to the dining hall for the closing speaches - all in all a very good night.
Next day it was still raining so I just had a quick look around the town. Later in the afternoon I walked over to Kuirau Park. I had heard that Rotorua was famous for it's Geo-thermal activity and steam rising from the ground but was surprised about how much activity there was and that you could see it everyewhere. At the local park in the same way as you would see a duck pond in one of our parks there were bubbling mud pools and steam rising from a big lake as well as areas that had been coroded by the sulphur coming to the surface from deep in the Earth.
As I walked around I realised that the steam was coming from everywhere even from the grass at the side of the road. You could also smell the eggy sulphur smell - nice! Areas were fenced off but next day I heard a story of a group of Chinese tourists who were photographing away when one of the areas exploded right next to them showering them with hot mud.
I think the fact that the air was misty made the steam even more impressive as there was one bit in the park where you walk over a bridge right over a steaming lake - there was so much steam that you couldn't see the people walking towards you until they were right in front of your face. Another good thing about this park was that it was all free!
After the park I walked through a Maori settlement (Ohinemutu) on the edge of the lake where there were black swans - quite fitting for the area. There was a Maori meeting house (Tamatekapua) and St. Faith's Church on the lake shore.
Next day it was time to visit Hobbiton in the town of Matamata. I had been told that not much of the Lord of the Rings set was left in place but this actually turned out to be a really good morning. I was picked up by the mini bus - the driver was pretty cool and drove us around the area - back through the park and he explained that everyone in Rotorua has steam heating from the hot ground water and some people even use it to cook with in special pits in the back garden.
The sun was shining and as we drove into the countryside it was clear that I'd picked a good day to do this. We stopped the bus at the Shires Rest and met up with our guide - he was 86 but new all about the films and had been on set when the crew had been working so had lots of insider info for us.
We drove through the farm and you could see why Peter Jackson had chosen the location as it looked very much like rolling green English hillside. There was also no roads or man made structures that would need clearing from shots (except a barn which was disguised during filming). We were told that the army was drafted in to build an access road and during filming a no flying zone was in force which showed you the sway Peter Jackson must have had. We were shown where all the make-up and catering tents had been set up as well as the "Animal Kingdom" where all the animals were looked after. We then headed down to Hobbiton where we got our first view of the Party Tree and Field and the Lake.
As we got closer we could also see the Hobbit holes.
There were lots of markers around the place which showed where the Mill and Bridge had been as well as a marker where they filmed the shot where Sam talks about being the furthest away from home he has ever been (in reality this is right next to the village!).
The Hobbit holes themselves have been taken back to wood fronts and you can only go into Bag End on top of the hill.
Although it's true that there is not much set left I thought the guide did a good job of explaining where everything happened. We even saw the Blacksmiths house where the Black Rider first arrives looking for Baggins of the Shire. The guide explained that they had to bring in hedge rows from other farms - they even moved a huge oak tree which they cut into sections and re-built on site - they ordered special plastic leaves which they had to hand stick onto the tree!! The guide also explained that all the vegetables that were growing had to appear to be huge in comparison to the Hobbits so they were all fed chemicals (like steriods) so they appeared huge but were in-edible.
After the tour we headed back to Rotorua where I met up with the bus to take me to my next destination - Hells Gate - quite a contrast to the green fields of Hobbiton!
Hells Gate is a geothermal field in the Rotarua region (known as Tikitere to the Maoris). George Bernard Shaw visited Hell's Gate in 1934 and gave it its English name. I had an hour and a half to explore the park. The features of the park included:
Sulphur Bath - It has a pH of 1.5 which is similar to very strong acid
Inferno - This area consists of five separate pools, which range from 70oC to 110oC with depths from 5m to 15m
Kakahi Falls - the largest hot water fall in the Southern Hemisphere. The Maori warriors used to bathe in the waters after battle and the sulphur treated their wounds.
Mud Volcano - unique because of its height - it throws up mud bombs from time to time.
The Steaming Cliffs - At the surface, temperature is 122oC with the boiling water sometimes reaching a height of more than 3 metres.
Cooking Pools - The most important aspect of this pool, is that it has a constant temperature of approximately 93oC - the pool can be used for cooking and the Sulphur does not taint the food.
Sulphur Lake - The only water you can touch - the lake water has been used for hundreds of years to cure aches and pains.
After visiting the reserve I still had some time to check out the Government Gardens and follow the footpath around Sulphur Bay - an area at the edge of Lake Rotorua which you can cross on boardwalks. Even the water at the edge of the lake bubbles and steams!
It was a strange start to the evening as no one knew what was going on. From the reception we were taken through into a garden then to a theatre where we watched a film about the first Moari settlers arriving by canoe to New Zealand. We had been given a driver name at reception and were wondering what this was for until we were led outside to the coaches.
We got on the coach and met our driver who was crackers - he was and Irish Maori and welcomed the coach in loads of different languages. We were then told that we were being driven out to a Maori Village deep in the forest. We had to elect a leader and we were briefed on how to behave when we reached the village and the Marae (meeting grounds).
We arrived at the gates of the village and even though it was still raining they looked impressive with fires burning all around. A toa (warrior) from the village came to meet our chief (and the other chiefs from the other coaches) whilst another warrior was chanting above the gates. We had to stand well back. The warrior was jumping around all over the place and shouting in Moari - pretty scarry! The warrior then placed a peace offering (Teka) on the floor and the chosen chief had to proceed slowly, pick up the offering, and walk slowly backwards to show we came in peace. The peace offering was successful and we were welcomed in to the village.
We walked through the village past huts and camp fires towards the Wharenui (The Meeting House). We then took our seats for the cultural performance (a bit like I had seen at Auckland Museum at the start of the New Zealand trip). There was a variety of songs and dances as well as a Haka. There was also the Poi and stick twirling.
After the performance we were shown through to the dining hall (Warekai). The food was gorgeous and had all been cooked in a Hangi (underground oven) - The traditional hangi meal has been under the earth on hot rocks for three to four hours. The rocks are heated to a white-hot state using native timber. They are then put into a pit dug in the earth. The baskets of meat (lamb and Chicken) are put directly on the hot stones, then the vegetable baskets and then the pudding basket on top of that. A wet cloth is placed over the food followed by wet hessian. Earth is then piled quickly over everything to keep the heat inside the earth oven. The kai (food) cooks slowly over several hours - a combination of smoking and steaming. They even had some of their own lager and beer which was spot on. After the meal we looked around the village and were shown how the food was cooked before returning to the dining hall for the closing speaches - all in all a very good night.
Next day it was still raining so I just had a quick look around the town. Later in the afternoon I walked over to Kuirau Park. I had heard that Rotorua was famous for it's Geo-thermal activity and steam rising from the ground but was surprised about how much activity there was and that you could see it everyewhere. At the local park in the same way as you would see a duck pond in one of our parks there were bubbling mud pools and steam rising from a big lake as well as areas that had been coroded by the sulphur coming to the surface from deep in the Earth.
As I walked around I realised that the steam was coming from everywhere even from the grass at the side of the road. You could also smell the eggy sulphur smell - nice! Areas were fenced off but next day I heard a story of a group of Chinese tourists who were photographing away when one of the areas exploded right next to them showering them with hot mud.
I think the fact that the air was misty made the steam even more impressive as there was one bit in the park where you walk over a bridge right over a steaming lake - there was so much steam that you couldn't see the people walking towards you until they were right in front of your face. Another good thing about this park was that it was all free!
After the park I walked through a Maori settlement (Ohinemutu) on the edge of the lake where there were black swans - quite fitting for the area. There was a Maori meeting house (Tamatekapua) and St. Faith's Church on the lake shore.
Next day it was time to visit Hobbiton in the town of Matamata. I had been told that not much of the Lord of the Rings set was left in place but this actually turned out to be a really good morning. I was picked up by the mini bus - the driver was pretty cool and drove us around the area - back through the park and he explained that everyone in Rotorua has steam heating from the hot ground water and some people even use it to cook with in special pits in the back garden.
The sun was shining and as we drove into the countryside it was clear that I'd picked a good day to do this. We stopped the bus at the Shires Rest and met up with our guide - he was 86 but new all about the films and had been on set when the crew had been working so had lots of insider info for us.
We drove through the farm and you could see why Peter Jackson had chosen the location as it looked very much like rolling green English hillside. There was also no roads or man made structures that would need clearing from shots (except a barn which was disguised during filming). We were told that the army was drafted in to build an access road and during filming a no flying zone was in force which showed you the sway Peter Jackson must have had. We were shown where all the make-up and catering tents had been set up as well as the "Animal Kingdom" where all the animals were looked after. We then headed down to Hobbiton where we got our first view of the Party Tree and Field and the Lake.
As we got closer we could also see the Hobbit holes.
There were lots of markers around the place which showed where the Mill and Bridge had been as well as a marker where they filmed the shot where Sam talks about being the furthest away from home he has ever been (in reality this is right next to the village!).
The Hobbit holes themselves have been taken back to wood fronts and you can only go into Bag End on top of the hill.
Although it's true that there is not much set left I thought the guide did a good job of explaining where everything happened. We even saw the Blacksmiths house where the Black Rider first arrives looking for Baggins of the Shire. The guide explained that they had to bring in hedge rows from other farms - they even moved a huge oak tree which they cut into sections and re-built on site - they ordered special plastic leaves which they had to hand stick onto the tree!! The guide also explained that all the vegetables that were growing had to appear to be huge in comparison to the Hobbits so they were all fed chemicals (like steriods) so they appeared huge but were in-edible.
After the tour we headed back to Rotorua where I met up with the bus to take me to my next destination - Hells Gate - quite a contrast to the green fields of Hobbiton!
Hells Gate is a geothermal field in the Rotarua region (known as Tikitere to the Maoris). George Bernard Shaw visited Hell's Gate in 1934 and gave it its English name. I had an hour and a half to explore the park. The features of the park included:
Sulphur Bath - It has a pH of 1.5 which is similar to very strong acid
Inferno - This area consists of five separate pools, which range from 70oC to 110oC with depths from 5m to 15m
Kakahi Falls - the largest hot water fall in the Southern Hemisphere. The Maori warriors used to bathe in the waters after battle and the sulphur treated their wounds.
Mud Volcano - unique because of its height - it throws up mud bombs from time to time.
The Steaming Cliffs - At the surface, temperature is 122oC with the boiling water sometimes reaching a height of more than 3 metres.
Cooking Pools - The most important aspect of this pool, is that it has a constant temperature of approximately 93oC - the pool can be used for cooking and the Sulphur does not taint the food.
Sulphur Lake - The only water you can touch - the lake water has been used for hundreds of years to cure aches and pains.
After visiting the reserve I still had some time to check out the Government Gardens and follow the footpath around Sulphur Bay - an area at the edge of Lake Rotorua which you can cross on boardwalks. Even the water at the edge of the lake bubbles and steams!
posted by Phil at 3:31 AM
1 Comments:
Wow - worth the wait - the pics look well cool! Jen x
Post a Comment
<< Home