Day 17 - Luge 2 and Māori culture

​As predicted, I very much enjoyed a bit of a lie-in this morning. Tony and Jane, who were staying in a hotel two minutes away from me, picked me up in their very swanky hire car, and we drove to the Rotorua gondola. As regular blog readers will know, I do love a gondola - almost as much as a funicular! 


There were nice views of the lake as we went up, and Tony and I then sped back down on the luge. It is the same company that I did the luge with in Singapore. Whilst I think I was a bit quicker than in Singapore, my uncle did show me up on our third run down when his overtaking manoeuvres were much better than mine!


Jane served as photographer for us, and we met back up with her for a cup of tea/coffee before going to the jelly bean shop and having a wander around the mountain area. All very pleasant.


Jane and Tony dropped me back at my hotel in the early afternoon, in plenty of time for me to meet back up with my group for our Māori cultural experience at Te Puia. Despite the heavens opening, we had a great tour of the Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, where we learnt about the arts of bone and stone carving, wood carving, and weaving. With 17 year old Cody as our guide, we then went to the Kiwi Conservation Centre and got to see a year old (it is his birthday tomorrow!) kiwi. Very cute!


Finally for this part of the tour, we saw the mud pools and the Pohutu geyser. Geysers still blow my mind - watching the steam coming up through the ground is crazy! 


We then got a little train (yay!) back to the main centre for a very, very yummy Māori buffet meal. There was SO much choice - the ham and the (many!) desserts were particular highlights.


It was then time for the cultural show. We could not see the outside part due to the weather, but got to learn about Māori traditions, see a haka, and experience various songs and performances.


A return to the hotel at a decent time allowed me time for a bit of laundry, and then a drink at the bar with others in the group. All in all, another excellent day. 

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