In our second week we explored the middle of the northern island. There are so many interesting things you can do only in this area that spending a month there would not be enough. We tried to do as much as possible without having to fill for chapter 11 afterwards.
We started by driving to Matamata, a village next to Hobbiton. Hobbition is the place where they shoot parts of the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” movies. Although you find brochures about everything everywhere, there are seldom prices in it. We expected the Hobbiton visit to be expensive, but 75$ for a two-hour tour even exceeded our expectations. We agreed to skip the tour and save the money for our next activity, a Blackwater rafting tour in the Waitomo Caves.
Early the next morning we got ready for our cave tour. After dressing up and getting equipped with helmets and climbing gear we drove to the starting point, a little hole in the ground. The tour started with a 35m abseil and whilst letting ourselves slowly through the narrow entrance down, we understood why you have to be below 120kg. Walking, climbing and tubing on a rubber ring we explored the cave for a few hours. The caves are full of glowworms, which looks amazing. We learned that in reality the glowing things are flies and the glowing comes from digesting their food. Since this is not very romantic, they stick with the glowworm name.
Our next stop was planned a long time ago. Every two years there is a national Kapa Haka festival where teams from around New Zealand compete to take the title of the best of the best. Kapa haka is a modern day performance of a Maori song. This year it was in Rotorua and on our way to Wellington. After waiting in line for half an hour, they ticket booth informed us that the first day is free, as there is the opening ceremony. Good thing that it was free, bad thing that apart from the ceremony there was nothing else.
To see some real kapa hakas we came back the next day. The general admittance tickets are pretty cheap; so most people buy them and just sit on the lawn. We learned that if you go to an event with Kiwis, bring your own chair or at least a blanket, a sitting bag is also ok. As long as you do not sit on a blanket or chair, your spot is considered as free, even if you sit there. They just come with their huge blankets and kindly tell you to move. The performances were really great, each group had half an hour and you can imagine how much they have to rehearse for that. Apart for admiration for their singing, dancing and coordination skills, my take away is a strange fascination for male butt cheek tattoos.
After seeing a few groups and eating our first hangi (food cooked in a pit oven) we cruised to Lake Taupo. On a postcard we discovered modern Maori carvings at the lake and wanted paddle there. Soon we learned that all the rental stations are too far away to paddle to the carvings, so that you are forced to go with a tour. Turned out that it was good thing to go with the tour since the wind was quite strong and paddling pretty exciting. I did not know that there could be these big waves on a lake. Do not get fooled by the pictures, the carvings are in a calm bay!
To relax our muscles and get a shower we ended our Taupo stay with a visit to one of the several hot springs. The tectonic plates and the resulting volcanoes created tons of hot springs, which are now great places to rest and relax. Stress-free and pampered we than went on our way to Wellington.
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