I said good-bye to Martin and Val the next morning and headed to the bus station. Again, they were incredibly nice to let me crash at their place! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
I was a bit drowzy all the way there. I read and slept most of the way. When I was awake, I assumed I would see loads of sheep, but there really weren't that many. Hmmmm...I am sure that will change soon being that I read that there are 12 sheep for every person in New Zealand!
The bus arrived at Rotoroa around noon. I checked into the Regent Flashpackers hostel as I decided the budget must kick in. Ah yes, it's time to shower in flip flops again!
The sun was shining and it was pretty hot out. After that 4 hour bus ride, I decided to walk to the famous Pohutu (Big Splash) Geyser which erupts about 20 times a day. On the way there, I met a girl from Finland and she highly recommended the tour of Whakarewarewa, a living thermal village. This is a local Maori village that has been occupied by the same tribe for many many generations. The unique thing about this village is that it is literally on and surrounded by geo-thermal waters and the ground is hot from the activity so close to the surface. The tour included quite a few things including a traditional Maori skirt making demonstration, a tour of the village and Geyser lookout points and an education on Maori cooking process in a Hangi (steam box which uses steam from the thermal waters). Also, I would NOT have wanted to be an enemy of the Maori during pre-colonial times - word has it that they were cannibals and they ate their enemies! I arrived a little late and missed the "show", but was allowed to come back the next day on the same ticket. The Geyser was pretty amazing, but a fire on a nearby golf course was getting more attention. All in all, the tour was pretty interesting. The religion aspect, I found intriguing. There is a Catholic and Anglican church on village grounds. The tour guide basically said that people are free to choose their religion and these churches were welcome with the introduction of Christianity to the Maoris. The Catholic grave yard was a small area just behind the church and because the ground is so hot, the bodies are buried in tombs above ground.
The girl from Finland also recommended that I rent a car while I am here. I don't know about that yet. They drive on the LEFT side of the road (I wanted to say wrong side, but didn't want to offend anyone :).
I was so hot and spent after the tour, but still had the long hot walk back to the hostel.
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