"Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!"
"I die! I die! I live! I live!"
-First line of the Maori haka
"I die! I die! I live! I live!"
-First line of the Maori haka
This morning was kind of lazy again while we were trying to decide what to do. We had two main choices for the morning activities: go to the "Agrodome" (showing off sheep and farm animals, with sheep shearing and cow milking and other activities) or go to a place called "Hell's Gate" that has some of the geothermal activity. Eventually we opted for Hell's Gate, but it was really a toss-up. One thing that would've been cool to do at the Agrodome: they have this thing called a "Zorb" - it's a huge plastic ball that they put you in, and then roll you down a hill. They call also fill it with some water, so it's supposed to be kind of like being inside a washing machine! Fun huh?? :)
So around noonish we went drove over to Hell's Gate to see what it was all about. It was a much, much smaller version of Yellowstone. There are lots of geothermal pools - the earth's crust is really thin here, so all of the pools in the area were hot. Lots of hot springs, that kind of thing. In fact, some of them are constantly boiling.
There's a neat little spa there that would've been fun to try, but alas for lack of money and time. The ground was also really warm. At one point we took off our shoes to feel how warm it was on our feet. Along the way we went past a hot waterfall. 
It's supposed to be the perfect temperature for a nice, hot shower!! :) Too bad we couldn't try it! Apparently this is where the Maori warriors would go to prepare for battle and to wash the battle off of them before returning to their village. Some other fun things: around the edge of one of the pools is a formation of land coral. 
The minerals in the water and the temperature and everything are such that this coral has actually formed out of the water, on the land. People come from all over to study it. Another interesting thing: a mud volcano. 
Yes, it is a volcano made of mud. In fact, it even erupts every so often. The mud will spew up, then gets hard when it cools down and covers over the opening, until the pressure builds and it erupts again. Cool, huh? People come from all over to study that, too. But don't walk on it - it is made of mud, after all, and it's too soft to support your weight. You'll fall in. Some French guy did - he survived, but his legs were severaly burned. Ick. Also on our little tour we took a drink from a natural spring - since it's spring water it's supposed to be pure. It was okay. :) It was a neat little area, but part of me wishes I'd seen the Agrodome instead.
(More hot springs)
(Boiling mud)
The water in this park has a lot of minerals in it from all the geothermal activity, but none of it had the spectacular colors that you can see in Yellowstone. Well, maybe one or two pools here were greenish, but not as many as in Yellowstone. Apparently the mud here is also really good for your skin (because of all the minerals). In fact, you can even take a mud bath at the spa. That would've been fun, but again $. While we were walking around the park our guide gave us some mud to put on our hand to test it. Afterwards I couldn't really tell much of a difference, but it was still neat. Oh, and when I went to wash it off in the spring water I was able to see chemistry at work - whatever minerals were in the water completely tarnished my silver ring!!
Fortunately that sort of thing happens enough that the center has a silver polish solution on hand for the unwitting customers wearing silver jewelery who don't know any better. :) I saw a little jacket that I really liked and wanted to buy in their souvenir shop. I probably could've asked the Poon's to spot me, but I wasn't too keen to borrow money. Oh well, maybe next time I'll be able to get it. :) As we were leaving, in the parking lot was a stray peacock. Beautiful animal, and it let us get really close to it! I kind of wonder how it got there though...
At night we had a special treat: we went to a Maori cultural performance. I loved it! The evening opens with the bus driver coming to pick us up. I think the bus drivers try to steal the show - ours was HILARIOUS!!! He just kept making jokes the whole ride and making us all laugh. It was really fun. :)
When you get to the village, you are first met by some of the Maori warriors who perform a traditional greeting ceremony. In some ways it looks comical, but I can imagine if you saw it for the first time you'd be scared out of your wits. This guy runs out at you carrying his spear, yelling at you and bugging out his eyes - I'd run away!! Anyway, the ceremony involves these Maori warriors, and one of them puts a "peace offering" on the ground. The chief of the other tribe has to pick it up to show that he's coming as a friend. One of the guys from our bus got to be our chief. :)
After the welcoming/greeting ceremony we got to go into a village that's been modeled after the traditional Maori villages. It reminded me a little of Conner Prairie - you had several people who were performing the same tasks that these people used to do every day in the past. I really liked that, and I wished we could've stayed a little longer to wander around the village. But, we were all hearded over to the meeting house for the cultural performance (song & dance). My favorite little thing in the village was these two warriors - they were doing some kind of game that's supposed to improve their observation/agility. They stand facing each other, doing small movements with their hands/fingers/feet/faces and making noises. If they do the same thing at the same time they lose or something like that. It was interesting!
So we were all hearded into the meeting house, where we were again greeted and invited in by the performers. In the hall they performed several songs and dances for us. It was really neat!! Of course they also did a "haka" - the traditional "war dance". The men will sing this song (chant, really) and hit their chests, pumping up their testosterone and adrenaline, getting them ready for a battle. The other purpose of the haka is to intimidate the enemy so they will run away and you don't even have to fight atll. Pretty clever huh? I just wished they'd let us know beforehand that they were about to do the haka, so I could've expected it. :)
The show was really quite enjoyable. It definitely looked like a "show" - as in, a performance, not just people living their daily lives. At first that was a little disappointing, but then I realized that of course they were performing! They're showing us a glimpse of the way their ancestors used to live - this isn't how they live today! It was still special to just see some of the things that make this culture so unique. My one real beef with the evening was that we didn't have a lot of time to wander around the village. Granted, it wasn't very big, but I wanted to spend more time looking at the different things there.
After the performance, we had dinner. It was DELICIOUS!!! They cooked the food in a traditional Maori way - they put the food into baskets, and put it under the ground, close to the coals, where it bakes. They had all kinds of good food, and it was all so tender! The desserts were fabulous too - a very "New Zealand" kind of dessert is called "Pavlova", which is basically a very light, sweet meringue topped with fruit. It was very rich! Ahh, how I've missed a wonderful, hot, non-Chinese meal! :)
(go to http://www.maoriculture.co.nz for more pictures like this of what our evening was like)
My favorite little event of the evening, though.....was when I found out the results of this year's Superbowl. :) I was ECSTATIC!! It was actually kind of funny - I didn't even know when the Superbowl was going to be or who was going to be in it. We were sitting to another couple from the States at our table, and we were just making conversation. They said that they had gone to a local bar around noon to watch the Superbowl. I like watching the NFL, so naturally I inquired about who won - and imagine my surprise and delight when I learned that MY team, the INDIANAPOLIS COLTS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!! :) I was in a state of euphoria the rest of the night!! :) And I just thought how funny it was that here I was on the other side of the world, without any idea that the Superbowl hadn't already taken place earlier, and I was learning from my table neighbors that MY TEAM won the biggest NFL game of the year! What a great end to the day! My Colts finally won!! I know someone had to tape that game, and you know I'll be watching that when I get home!!
GO COLTS!!!!
(this picture borrowed from http://www.therecordherald.com)
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