Kia Ora

In the Maori culture, this is the typical welcoming. It literally means “to be well or healthy”. Our next stop was the town of Rotorua; home to a Maori cultural experience, a geo thermal park, and a little downhill fun. Since Sally had enough fun up north, she stayed behind for some “me” time, while Mat, Charlie, and I headed for the Skyline Luge. This is a series of concrete luge runs that you ride down on a small three wheel car and can reach pretty fast speeds. The U.S. would never have something this fun; the lawyers, insurance companies, and politicians would surely outlaw it. We all survived and had a blast (See “Where in the World are the Reeve Boyz?)”. That night we were warmly received by the Mitai family for their traditional Maori feast or “hangi”. I would normally shy away from this kind of activity because it is definitely slanted towards the typical tourist, but it had gotten good reviews, so we decided to try it. The nice thing about this was that it is on the family’s historical property and was created and still run by them. The night included an entrance of the Maori warriors (See “Friends Along the Way”) in a traditional war canoe, a cultural performance, a full meal, and a walk though the lush forest to see the Glow Worms around the naturally fed spring. We also did a nature hike with a guide who described the native flora and fauna and how the Maori used them as food, medicine, and tools. We got to see some Kiwis (in a cage) and the animal highlight was finding Elwood’s Kiwi Cousin (See “Dr. Doolittle”). The next day we stopped by some very cool (but stinky) Thermal pools and the Lady Knox Geyser, which erupts daily at 10:15, with some help from the park staff. The rest of the day was spent driving to the southern tip of the north island (Wellington), taking the three hour ferry ride across the Cook Strait (See “Planes, Trains, and Autos’) and stopping for the night in the small town of Pichton. The next morning, we drove to the town of Nelson and enjoyed walking around the quaint town – so quaint that all the shops close at 4:00 PM on a Saturday!! The weather started getting worse, so we decided to push on the next morning and get to the Franz Josef Glacier.