We flew from Queenstown to Rotorua today.  After our arrival, we had a guided tour outside the museum and learned some of the interesting history of the pools, buildings and the grounds which have been transformed from a winderness of scrub, hot pools and geysers into the beautiful gardens of today.  Unfortunately the museum had been damaged in the earthquake of 2016 and was not open to the public.

In the evening we visited the Maori village called ‘Te Tawa Ngahere Pa’ in the midst of Rotorua’s ancient Tawa Forest and immersed ourselves in the colourful culture of the Tamaki Maori with a cultural performance of songs, dances, storytelling and traditional feasting.  Our food was cooked the traditional Maori way on hot stones in an authentic earthen oven.  Karl was our appointed our ‘chief’ and Katie his ‘mis-chief’.

We started Saturday with a breakfast cruise along Lake Rotorua on a traditional paddle steamer.  Here is Debbie and our captain.

After breakfast, we met our coach and guide for our in-depth sightseeing tour of Rotorua, starting with the Te Puia Arts and Culture Centre to see the renowned geothermal activity including boiling mud pools, gentle hot springs, and violent geysers including the world famous Pohutu Geyser.  Our guide Paul gave us an indepth history of the Maori discovery of Rotarura and the subsequent arrival of European settlers.

From Te Puia, we drove to the Agrodome where we learned about the thriving sheep industry in New Zealand and were entertained with sheep shearing and dog hearding.  Sheep from different breeds strutted their stuff!  Linda was invited to milk the cows and Rookie fed the lambs.

We enjoyed dinner at our delightful hotel right in the heart of the city, Novotel Rotorua Lakeside.  It is our last formal night together.  Tomorrow we head to Auckland.