So today is our first full day on the Northern Island of New Zealand. The plan is to use Auckland as the hub and make daily drives as the spokes for this leg of our adventure. As with any new place, we had a couple of bumps in getting settled in the apartment. But we are seasoned travelers and we worked through the minor issues pretty quickly. Due to the travel the previous day, the rest of the family slept in just a little bit. Once they woke and we had a quick breakfast, we were down the road to see what we could see.

The minivan took us down to Rotorua, a city on the southern shore of Lake Rotorua, Bay of Plenty Region. This part of New Zealand is a very active geothermal region with striking landscapes with a subtle hint of sulfur in the air. It actually kind of reminds me of Jesup, GA where my Mother-in-law is from. They have a pulpwood processing plant here and wind the wind blows just right, the two places smell very similar. (Melissa disagrees. Pulpwood and sulfur do not smell the same. Pulpwood has its own unique smell. Sulfur smells like rotten eggs.) After lunch, with traditional New Zealand cookies, Afghans, we went over to tour the Whakarewarewa Living Māori Village.

The program started with a great traditional song and dance demonstration, followed by a guide led tour conducted by one of the long time residents and direct descendant of the village. Whakarewarewa Village is the legacy and home of the Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao people, who have been sharing their unique way of life with visitors from all around the world for over two hundred years. The current residents of the village are able to trace their ancestry back to the Te Arawa people who first occupied the valley in 1325. On the way over to the village the question of why anyone would choose to live in the region came up. Our guide answered this question by explaining how the geothermal features provide a lot of what the village needs. Whaka Village (the shortest name used) is still very much a living village. The residents still use steam vents, with boxes over them to create a natural pressure cooker, a 'Māori microwave' to cook their fatty meats. They also use the hot pools to cook vegetables and seafood. The villagers also still use communal bathing pools heated from the geothermal water. The pools vary in temperature, and are checked regularly for safety. The "Champagne Pool" registered 265 degree C at 50’ down (when the cable melted before scientists reached the bottom). We also learned that clear pools are safe and murky pools are toxic, or 'death water'. Audrey happily pointed out the 'death water' for the rest of the day. The tour was fascinating and Hannah, our guide, was very friendly and informative.

The next stop was Hell's Gate. Ok, I need to step to the side here and make an observation. It is obvious we are not in the United States. That is not because the landscape looks all that different, or the weather is unfamiliar, or even the people are more friendly or rude. It is for one simple and obvious reason. We are allowed to get way close to the geothermal features. The seed of this thought was planted when we had to avoid the massive horns of the grumpy highland cattle. It grew a little more when we were observing the sea lions at play and were issued the warning to not turn our backs on them. And the idea really took root as we were the only people (last ones allowed in) in Hell's Gate, and they only thing that stopped us from getting too close, other than common sense, was a little sign illustrating our death would be horrific if we strayed from the path. We are smart people and were never in danger of death or severe bodily harm. But in the United States, being a very litigious society, there would have been warning signs, railings, and many other obstructions otherwise blocking out view or spoiling the beauty of the natural world. Ok, back to the main topic, Hell's Gate. The area had a much stronger sulfur smell and almost all of the pools were 'death water'. Here we saw a big sulfuric acid lake, a big mud volcano, and a really neat feature where water was just boiling on the surface like a frying pan. There is also a bubbling lake where Ryan, in perfect comedic timing, exclaimed "that sounds like a fresh Coca Cola" in a lovely southern drawl.

Since the nice lady let us into the park a couple minutes after the cutoff, we assured her we would boogie through and be back out before dark. All the sight seeing done for the day, we stopped for a quick dinner on the way back to the apartment and re-set for the next day.