A short overnight hop brought our ship to the port of Tauranga, the largest port in New Zealand, as well as the gateway to the mud pools, geysers and other geothermal features of this volcanic island, in nearby Rotorua.
A group of 24 of us, split into two big vehicles for more comfort, met on the pier for a full day of touring.
Our first stop was a small living/working Maori village called Whakarerarewa. Of course the minute we pulled in it started to rain. Most of us had clearly not prepared for rain, but lucky for us our tour company had plenty of umbrellas available.
A local villager met us and guided us through his village, giving us a general history of the area and showing us the various hot springs and geysers. He described how they use the insanely hot water and steam to cook their foods. For example, they dip their vegetables into the water for all of 20 seconds and they're cooked. Fish takes less than a minute, chicken about three minutes.
He also showed us their communal baths, where water is filtered down through cement channels and fills the individual tubs used as baths. The villagers bathe in the morning before the village opens for tours and then again in the early evening after the tours are over.
After our tour, six of the villagers put on a short show for us, singing Maori songs. It was interesting and fun.
Next, we went to a place where there was a gondola to take us up a mountain where we enjoyed really gorgeous views of Lake Rotorua and the surrounding forests and farmlands. We also had lunch in the cafe. They had a luge that you could get on (for a fee) and ride down the mountain, as well as a big swing ride, much like you'd find at a place like Six Flags. Nope. No thanks. The luge looked fun but we didn't really have enough time.
Our final and most fun stop was the Agrodome. It's a big sheep farm and arena set up to educate and entertain people in the ways of sheep herding, sheep shearing and good overall fun. The place is a recreation of New Zealand's first introduction to who they were as a country at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan back in 1970. Their sheep show was an instant hit so upon their return to New Zealand the Agrodome was born.
They bring up about a dozen different breeds of sheep onto the stage and then bring out one sheep that is ready to be shorn. This process takes just a couple of minutes to complete and it's pretty cool to watch the sheep shearer work. Very precise and the sheep is put into a position that renders it essentially slack and docile during the process. Our sheep shearer was a very funny guy which made for great fun.
They also brought up a few of their working dogs. One of them was asked to track and "herd" some ducks. Hilarious. Meanwhile, the lineup of the sheep were still on stage. Most were nodding off. One in particular had his eyes closed, mouth open and was snoring. He was so cute.
There were some other comedic moments and audience participation. It just so happened I got called up on stage to milk a cow. I don't how that happened but it was kind of fun so I'm glad I got the chance to get "udderly" involved.
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