Our surf was worth it sacrified for visiting the heartland of Maori culture. In Rotoura´s district 35% of the population are Maori, some of them still live on the Whakarewarewa Thermal village where we learnt a bit about their culture, food, celebrations and the Ta Moko, the art of tattoo. Although was kind of prepared for the tourist, was really interesting.
There are 16 lakes in the vicinity of Rotoura, all of them formed from craters of extinct volcanoes. But the subterranean is still alive and the proof of it are steaming hot springs, explosive geysers, bubbling mud pools and the clouds of sulphurous gas responsible for the town’s unique eggy smell. We visited the thermal reserve Wai-O-Topu, meaning “Sacred Water” and we were astonished by the landscape and the kaleidoscopic colours of the pools. Check the pictures to get an idea.
From Rotoura we drove to the Central Plateau, where a vast water-filled crater is Taupo’s Lake, the largest in New Zealand. Near by there is the Tongariro National Park with three massive peaks. We had the intention of doing an alpine crossing but it was raining like hell so we move on to Taranaki.
