One Of Terry's Corners Of the Online World

queen_nephthys and I spent a rainy night at a Maori village enjoying a hangi. It was a little touristy at times, but they emphasised the cultural aspects of the village, performed a concert and a ferocious haka, then we ate meat and vegetables and a chocolate pudding that were all cooked over hot stones in a pit covered in hessian bags and dirt. The people were friendly and not in the "tolerate the tourists" way. For them, apart from the $s, it's about perserving and sharing their culture. The more people who know about Maori culture, even if they adopt aspects of it for themselves, the less chance it has of dying out. 

Today, we hit <a href=http://www.tepuia.co.nz/>Te Puia</a>, an active geothermal area with skyrocketing geysers, hot pools of mud, natural jacuzzis that made terrific cook pots and sulphur-rimmed holes in the ground that issued heat and steam. Spent lots more money on touristy stuff, and listened to a really crook CD we bought called "Hooked On Maori". Tomorrow, we drive to Napier, then on to Taupo the next day, then back to Auckland to leave the Shaky Isles.