We were blessed by another 6:30am wakeup call. After a short bus ride from Rotorua, we arrived at
Waimangu Volcanic Valley for a walk through the "world's youngest and most exciting geothermal area."
It's a pretty interesting story -- a volcano erupted in 1886 in what was already a tourist attraction with its "Pink and White Terraces" - the eruption destroyed these scenic attractions.
It was a pleasant walk, with most of us shedding layers as the day heated up.
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| A boat cruise which I described as "not hugely exciting" in my travel journal - probably due to the fact that the volanic eruption 100+ years ago covered up all the interesting stuff! |
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| Exploding mud pond |
That evening there was an optional tour "add-on" -- a Maori Village cultural experience. Having been to the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu in Hawaii in the past, we didn't think we really needed to do this. We were the only ones on our tour to decline this opportunity. Our fellow travelers reported that we made a wise decision.
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| What we missed... |
Instead, we caught the hotel shuttle into downtown Roturua, where they were having a street festival, and frankly, I think sitting on a bench on a street corner there was a more authentic Maori cultural experience than anything we could have paid to see. It was fun to see people strolling by and greeting each other - it appeared everyone in town knew each other. We wondered into a hip little bar, had a drink, and then moved on to the Indian restaurant where we'd booked dinner. While at the Indian restaurant, a brass band started playing Christmas songs out in the shopping arcade. It was a fairly random, but very enjoyable evening.
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