Well, we've been here for a few days now, and we have been enjoying ourselves so much in NZ's sunniest location - sorry, Steve & Larraine ;-). What a beautiful part of the country. The first three shots were taken in the yard of the house we're staying in; it is a gorgeous property with a pool and lovely gardens. We have been enjoying Ohope Beach (voted the best in NZ) for a few days. We took a quick hike up the cliffs and over to a more secluded beach made largely of crushed shells, and at low tide we were able to walk out on the rocks to explore the tide pools (check out the girls' pages for more pics).
Today we headed into the interior to Rotorua, considered the capital of Māori culture. We visited Te Puai, which presents visitors with a traditional Maori welcoming ceremony to the wharenui (meeting house) & haka (check out the link to understand the significance & how to do it properly!). Visitors were invited to participate in traditional ceremonies for male & female members and everybody had a good time (videos to follow soon!). You can see Rowan & Judy onstage on Rowan's blog. Check out my "haka" audition below for how NOT to do it! It was a lot of fun. I was onstage with a lot of men who were with a group visiting from India. Everybody had a good time.
Rotorua is also the centre of geothermic activity in NZ. We saw boiling mud pools and a geyser - Pohutu, which erupts twice an hour - and were impressed by the heat and smell given off. It erupts up to 20 times each day, up to a height of 30 metres - pretty impressive! The area smells strongly sulphur-like due to this geological phenomenon. You can see our video of this phenomenon at the bottom of this page.
In the afternoon, we visited Paradise Valley Springs Wildlife Park. No photos on this page, but you will discover what Teaghan & Rowan got up to when you visit their pages........ what a great start to our time on the North Island!
Today we headed into the interior to Rotorua, considered the capital of Māori culture. We visited Te Puai, which presents visitors with a traditional Maori welcoming ceremony to the wharenui (meeting house) & haka (check out the link to understand the significance & how to do it properly!). Visitors were invited to participate in traditional ceremonies for male & female members and everybody had a good time (videos to follow soon!). You can see Rowan & Judy onstage on Rowan's blog. Check out my "haka" audition below for how NOT to do it! It was a lot of fun. I was onstage with a lot of men who were with a group visiting from India. Everybody had a good time.
Rotorua is also the centre of geothermic activity in NZ. We saw boiling mud pools and a geyser - Pohutu, which erupts twice an hour - and were impressed by the heat and smell given off. It erupts up to 20 times each day, up to a height of 30 metres - pretty impressive! The area smells strongly sulphur-like due to this geological phenomenon. You can see our video of this phenomenon at the bottom of this page.
In the afternoon, we visited Paradise Valley Springs Wildlife Park. No photos on this page, but you will discover what Teaghan & Rowan got up to when you visit their pages........ what a great start to our time on the North Island!