After our big night out I was glad we didn’t have to catch a bus! We were still up early, thanks to the heard of baby Elephants that were staying in our room (about four people had to catch the Kiwi Experience bus that morning) but at least we didn’t have to get back on the Duncan (“all I want to do is talk”) bus! Because we didn’t really have to do anything today, we just relaxed. Sally and I went to the “Pak ‘n’ Save” supermarket. It’s basically a cheap place to get your groceries – it’s not as nice as Tesco (I never thought I would say that) but it’s not as bad as Lidl (which is actually quite good for sweeties). It sells brand name products (like Uncle Ben’s Rice, which I chose to mention because I’m living off it) but they’re a lot cheaper here because it’s not a big fancy store, I suppose it’s a bit like Mackro, because it is sort of a warehouse, but not really. If there are any Americans out there, it’s a smaller Costco.
After buying our supplies we walked back to the Hostel. Sally and Jess then went to Te Puia. It’s a volcanic park and you can see geysers and hot mud pools, which did sound interesting, but I couldn’t really be bothered spending more money to go see some mud. I’ll Google it. I’m actually quite glad I didn’t go, they had a pretty rubbish day. The bus times were wrong and they missed the guided tour and then they weren’t allowed into the little show they put on because the man at the desk didn’t give them a ticket. To make the day even worse, Sally’s phone broke. Plus they did a lot of walking. So I’m really really glad I didn’t go. Instead I stayed at the Hostel and did some washing!
Being the genius that I am, I very gracefully spilt milk on my trousers, so I thought it would be smart to give them a wash – I probably smell bad enough, let’s not add sour milk to the equation! Because it was such a nice day I was able to dry my clothes over the balcony (our room had its own balcony), so that saved me a bit of $$$ - however, I do have $25 worth of change, because you need $2 coins for the washing machines! Once my washing was dry I thought it would be nice to go for a wee walk, I was going to hire a mountain bike and go for a wee cycle around the lake, but I got as far as the Hostel reception. That’s where I met Ellen and her roommate Tom (that’s not his real name, he’s Dutch, but nobody can pronounce his name so he gets called Tom – which is strange, because EVERYONE on this bus is called Tom. Literally about 5 boys, which in a smallish group is seriously confusing!). We had a chat and then decided that while Rotoura is nice, it would be much nicer to have a swim in the Hostel pool!
Ellen and I spent a good few hours in the swimming pool, it isn’t a massive pool, but it’s a decent size and it’s naturally heated because of all the geothermal activity in the area. Now if you have seen me in the water, you will know that I am extremely graceful. I’m like a Dolphin. By Dolphin I really mean a Whale – actually, I think a Whale might be more graceful than me. We were doing handstands and underwater sit ups, which was as fun as it sounds. I did a few wee spins and twirls and my attempt at the doggy paddle was fantastic, I looked so stupid, which doesn’t make sense, because I’m quite a good swimmer, but apparently being a good swimmer doesn’t make you good at the doggy paddle. I nearly drowned. But it was really funny. After a great swim we started getting ready to go out, to the Maori Cultural night!
The Maori Cultural night was run by a company called Tamaki Tours and they came to the Hostel to collect us. To make the day worse, they didn’t have Sally and I on the list, but after a few phone calls (and me producing my receipt) they let us on the bus and we were off on our adventure! The night is quite a production, it’s out of town and set in a reconstructed Maori Village. When you first go in you are greeted by a group of Maori people – all dressed up, singing songs, doing dances – all the ceremony you would have had if you were a visitor to the village. You then walk through the forest, where you see how the people used to live, they have replica houses and you can see how they used to catch their food. After having a walk around and getting a few pictures with some big attractive (and some not so attractive) Maori men, we went for the all singing, all dancing part of the night. Walking around the forest was really interesting, but also really funny – Ellen has a thing for Maori men, so we were trying to contain ourselves!
The actual show was amazing, I can’t even describe it, so I’ll type what it says in my little Kiwi Experience book – “Tamaki Maori Village is set firmly in Pre-European times, within a 200 year old native forest village. Celebrate and share in ancient traditions and rituals of the welcome ceremony. Learn more of our ancestors earliest days here, through a mixture of storytelling, Haka, song and dance. Ultimately share in an authentically prepared Hangi meal (cooked in an earthen oven) and enjoy the warmth and humour of your hosts.” Basically it was an amazing night. The music was fantastic and the food was so yummy! They had everything, chicken, lamb, sweet potatoes, boiled potatoes, fish, muscles, pasta, salad and chocolate cake desert, oh and Pavlova (which I always thought the British had invented, apparently not). So it probably wasn’t all traditional food, but there were no complaints here!
After dinner there was a nice speech and we all got back on the bus to go to the Hostel. On the way home our elected chief for the night, was made to stand at the front and sing songs all the way home – we sang Oasis classics, Queen and about one line from every British song ever written (we only sung one line because none of us could remember the words). When we got back to the Hostel we went to the Lava Bar, which was one of the best and worst ideas we have ever had. We were all “high on life” so a dance seemed like a good idea. Maybe not. Sally, Ellen, Jess and I were the only ones on the dance floor and we were properly giving it rice. Like really. You know when you and your friends just go crazy and have a total dance sesh, usually in a bedroom where nobody can see you – well we did that in the middle of a busy bar. It was one of the best night out I have ever had! The DJ was playing all the newies and all the oldies – we had a bit of Tiffany “I Think Were Alone Now” (that song comes to mind because Ellen and I made up dance moves for all the lyrics, the highlights include slow running across the dance floor), some Whitney and then all the usuals. After a while people stopped giving us funny looks and they joined us. I love when that happens. The “cool” people realise that it’s much better to look like an idiot that’s having a lot of fun!
When we were all danced out we ended up playing card games with a group of English boys, which was actually really fun. I was quite good at the games, for a change. We even played Go Fish, which I never knew how to play before! The card games went on for a while and then we just headed back to our rooms. Note to self - packing at night is not a good idea, especially when you have a room full of sleeping people! So that was how our second day in stinky Rotoroua was spent, a day full of laughter is always a productive day!
xx
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