Waimangu & Tamaki Maori Village

Sunday 30th October
Today we headed out to look at Waimangu volcanic valley. The Waimangu Geothermal System, created by the eruption of Mount Tarawera on 10 June 1886 is the youngest geothermal system in the world and the only one wholly created as a direct result of a volcanic eruption. We stood looking out over the valley which was heavily forested with huge tree ferns rising out of the greenery to tower over the trees. The view looked like something from prehistoric times and we would not have been surprised if a dinosaur suddenly emerged. Deciding against the hiking trail – advertised as only for the fit, we followed the gravel path down the valley stopping at various viewpoints to take pictures and admire the scenery. The smell of sulphur hung in the air and all around we could see steam rising from fissures in rocks. There were several lakes, all steaming with bubbling mud pools and boiling water holes around the edges. There were large deposits of nasty yellowy/white slimy looking algae around the edges of the lakes. Running alongside the path was a stream that boiled, bubbled and steamed as it gurgled along towards the bigger lakes. At the bottom of the path we took a boat ride around the lake before catching the coach back up to the top of the valley where we started.

This evening we were booked to go to the Tamaki Maori village. It is a traditional village run by Maoris that aims to educate people about the Maori people, their culture, language, traditions and life. There were demonstrations of dancing, games, spear fighting, ribbon ball swinging and of course the Haka! Peter had a go at the Haka, but far from scaring anyone, it is supposed to be an intimidating dance, he was entertaining but in a different way, I couldn’t stop laughing and he was laughing and enjoying it also. There was a magnificent feast served up, cooked in the traditional way by digging a pit, heating volcanic rock until it is white hot then putting the food into cages and lowering it into the pit, meat first, covered with sacking, then vegetables, more sacking then finally pudding. The final covering of hessian then had earth heaped on top and it was left to cook for 3-4 hours. The end result was delicious. We saw the food lifted from the pit and it was served buffet style for everyone. Chicken, lamb, vegetables, fish, oysters, sponge pudding and pavlova. Absolutely fantastic. A great evening’s entertainment well worthwhile and highly recommended.Read more