Rotorua

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Had to be up at early as coach was leaving at 7.15 for Rotorua. Made a stop at place called Karangahake scenic reserve and did cool walk there at Gorge and walked through old railway tunnel, which was pitch black and were also few swing bridges...at first I hadn't realised and thought I wasn't feeling too good! Weather was still pretty rubbish and rained lots so didn't see as much as had planned to on the way to Rotorua although passed through Matama aka Hobbiton for Lords of the Rings fans! Lots of people went Zorbing in Rotorua (rolling down the hill in big plastic ball) but decided to give that one a miss...didn't think would be much fun in the rain! In the afternoon went to Maori cultural centre which gave good intro into Maori history and culture, also tried bit of food & drink! In the evening went to a Hangi & Concert. It was a lot of fun and got to see some cool stuff including the Haka. Also saw traditional games and activities, songs, dances etc. Once the concert part was over went for the big feed....the food was really good and literally tonnes of it!

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The following day we had the morning in Rotorua before moving on. We went to geothermal reserve called Te Puia. Saw some cool geysers and boiling mud pools etc! Had few hours to explore which was good as lots to see and had to wait a while to see some of the geysers to go off! Had a bit of a guided tour first of all and then just explored more on our own. Next door there was a Maori Arts & Cultural centre and Maori meeting houses so saw those too albeit a bit quickly!