The moment of truth... in Rotorua

After a brief pitstop in a little town called Taupo, we arrived in the touristy Rotorua, a city in the heart of the North Island that attracts 3 million visitors every year due to its proximity to the Wai-O-Tapu ‘thermal wonderland’. We were really looking forward to seeing the Lady Knox Geyser, which we had been told erupted at 10:15am every day, and had planned to wake up early to catch the show weeks in advance, when we realised we would be driving past this natural wonder on our planned route. Unfortunately, we did just that… we drove right past it… and missed it by about 10 minutes.

We decided to try and see it the next day, and instead visited a 'Māori village' to gain insight into the mysterious culture of the indigenous Polynesian people that first discovered New Zealand. After reading lots of brochures about different Māori villages, we booked one with the option to have a traditional Māori meal and arrived just in time for lunch, excited and hungry.

Entering the geothermal village of Whakarewarewa (believe it or not, that’s the short version of the name), surrounded by steam and bubbling hot pools, I recalled reading about how a traditional 'hangi' meal consisted of food being steamed over these pools. So imagine our surprise when we were instructed to go to the local cafe in the village, where a young girl who seemed to be annoyed by her manicure being interrupted served us by plonking a plate with a corn on the cob and a chicken leg with cabbage on the table! No explanation, not that the contents of the plate required one, and no attempt to lure us into the mystical Maori world we so wanted to be in. Baffled looks on our faces, we sat down to eat, and I couldn’t help notice the irony in the fact that we were eating the food ‘formerly known as Māori’ whilst listening to ‘the artist formerly known as Prince’ playing on the radio station they had chosen to set the mood. As much as I love Raspberry Beret, I don't think it helped with the ambience, or rather, lack of…).

Fortunately, the experience was salvaged by a guided tour, which was given to us by a Māori woman who had been raised in the village. She shared some interesting facts about the culture that once existed amongst the tribes, whilst teaching us about the environmental and economical benefits of living in a geothermal area.

The next morning, we were again geared up for the Lady Knox Geyser we had missed the day before, and made sure we arrived with plenty of time to spare. Ushered towards the geyser, we were quite surprised to see wooden benches laid out around the protective fence, making the area resemble a small Roman arena. As everyone in the audience impatiently looked at their mobile phones, waiting for their clocks to read 10:15, I remember thinking how Kiwis have a knack for turning natural beauty into a theme park. What came next only confirmed this. There was no sudden explosion of boiling hot water shooting out of the cone-like structure we had all been staring at for almost twenty minutes. There was simply a man with a microphone walking towards the geyser with a bag of detergent in his hand.

He talked about geysers and what causes these vents in the earth to spurt boiling water into the air, but didn't seem at all worried about the time. It was already 10:25! As he told us about how prisoners had discovered the geyser in 1901 when they added soap to the hot water to wash their clothes, my mind drifted back to the previous morning. The disappointment we had felt when we realised we wouldn't make it in time to see the natural phenomena for 10:15 was nothing compared to the indignity we felt now, watching the ‘geyser’ feebly squirt water into the air with the aid of washing powder. If you want some real geyser action, and you live in Europe, my advice is to go to Iceland. We continued to walk around Wai-O-tapu (Māori for ‘sacred waters’), this time amazed by nature at her brightest. Steaming, hot pools of different colours caused by mineral deposits, one group aptly named The Artist's palette, were the subject of most of Ismael’s photos, which will be added to the blog next week.*

To complete our journey around the area, we went to a place that despite being openly fictional has become a reality for many a geek: Hobbiton - the fantasy village created for the Lord of The Rings and Hobbit film trilogies. As we were guided around the charming hobbit holes and explained how the supple leaves of the tree standing proudly over Bag End were actually imported from Taiwan and individually wired on to each branch, and other fascinating facts about how the set was created, I realised that there is nothing wrong with something being false... It’s only a problem when it’s passed off as being the truth.

Guess what I found out in Rotorua?

1. Geysers are a rare phenomenon, wherby many coincidental conditions need to occur for them to exist. For this reason, they are only found in Iceland, Russia, U.S.A, Chile and of course New Zealand.

2. In pre-European Māori culture, facial tattoos were an important milestone between childhood and adulthood, but also signalled status and rank. Many if not most high-ranking persons had facial markings and those who went out without them were seen as people of a lower social status. Another reason for the practice in traditional times was to make a person more attractive to the opposite sex.

3. The 26 tonne oak tree overlooking Bag End was cut down and brought in from near Matamata. Each branch was numbered and chopped, then transported and bolted together on top of Bag End. Artificial leaves were imported from Taiwan and individually wired onto the dead tree, and sprayed in order to get the perfect shade of green.

*My photographer is off being a diver at the moment, so in the meantime, check out his recently updated flickr page for your photography hit.