Rotorua Day 2

Andy and Jan visited a Kiwi hatchery this morning but we skipped out on that. Bit expensive and not too keen. Do hope to see a Kiwi but unlikely to see a wild one.
Did a visit to Māori Village at the edge of town. Interesting as it is an inhabited village, not a tourist construct, with about 50 people still living there. The population is reducing because it is being destroyed by the geothermal Springs it is built around.
Got to see our first geyser and see how the locals use the (very) hot springs for cooking and bathing. They have an interesting way to cool the 100C water down for washing in. Saw some people loading up a 'Māori Microwave', basically a wooden box placed over a hot vent in the ground. Each one is big enough for two or three families to cook in.
There was a geyser there called 'Korotoitoi' which is 'Grumpy Old Man'. Evidently goes up twice a year with plenty of warning and shuts down the other geysers for a while. Know how that feels.
Evidently the springs there are too hot for sulphur so it was a bit pongy but not much.Read more