On Sunday, July 23rd we had a free day from our soccer matches and wanted to take advantage of it by getting out of the city and taking an overnight trip to Rotorua. Amy and I came here in 2006, our first time to New Zealand. It made an impression on us and we wanted to share the experience with Amy and Paula.
We left Auckland early in a rental car to make the 3+ hour drive to Rotorua and our plan was to go to the Wai-O-Tapu (wai-ow-taa-poo) Thermal Wonderland and to the Mitai Māori Cultural Experience. Rotorua is south of Auckland and is situated roughly at the bottom of the top third of the north island.
Our driver Amy 1.0 got a crash course in roundabouts and driving on the opposite side of the car and road as we headed out of the city. Between the car navigation system, phone GPS and her human navigator (Amy 1.5) we made it successfully and didn’t get lost. Amy and I wondered how we navigated in a campervan in 2006 with no such technology. I guess we used a map, made of paper. GASP.
When we arrived at the geothermal park we definitely felt more of a chill as it was only 41 degrees. Due to the geothermal conditions beneath the earth, the area has many hot springs noted for their colorful appearance and also has boiling mud pools. The park is very well laid out with a pathway that we easily walked in about 3 hours and that included stopping for many pictures. It was well worth the trip to get out of the city and see something so unique and scenic. Next it was time for lunch, check into the hotel and a rest before heading to the cultural experience.
Mitai Māori Cultural Experience
The Mitai Māori village has been operating over 20 years which means when Amy and I went in 2006 it was fairly new. The experience was largely the same as it was 17 years ago. The village is family owned and run and their mission is to give its guests an authentic introduction to the Māori culture, the indigenous people of Autearoa, New Zealand. They depict this through traditional dress, song, dance including a “Haka” Māori war dance. I personally love this experience because of its authenticity and their dedication to educating their guests to this special culture.
Group E - Netherlands 1 - Portugal - 0
The second game of Group E happened on Saturday night and we are keenly interested because they are the competition for the US and it was Portugal’s debut to the World Cup. Our hotel TVs in Auckland don’t have access to the channel showing the World Cup. By sheer silly luck our hotel in Rotorua gave us access to the game and we could record it so we could watch it when we got back from the cultural experience. I told the girls I planned it that way….
