Day 10 – A Maori Feast for the Body and Mind

11,911 Steps

Today we have a couple of interesting things planned, first up being Rotorua Zip-lines! We had a group of 10 guests in our group and 3 guides to take us around the Okere falls area, showing us the highlights, teaching us about the local wildlife and Maori stories tied to the area, all alongside travel by zip-line. The same company runs rafting in the area at the same time as the zip tours. Our first zip-line went directly over the river where a group of rafters were travelling! It was such an exhilarating feeling, flying through the trees over white water below. And our guides made it all the more enjoyable; Millie, Rafa and Maria were just so kind and funny.

They took us through a few lines before we stopped to try a tea made out of a local medicinal herb called Kawakawa, which I really enjoyed, and write our names on tokens that will be tied to trees in their reforestation project. The reforestation project came about when they acquired more land to run lines on from a neighbouring farmer, in return for the Rotorua Zip-lines company turning the fields into more native forest, which I think is such a cool initiative! 

The last zip-line was pretty short and flat, but because of this, we had a few options to travel along it. We could either go forward, backward or upside down. Drew and I were first up this time, and of course Drew opted to do the most Australian option and travel upside down. I have no shame in saying that I opted for the standard way every time.

I really enjoyed my time here, and it tempted me to try rafting. Maybe next time!

We next headed back to the accommodation to try and rest for a little, I have not been sleeping very well and feel slightly under the weather, so any excitement is wiping me out at the moment! But after a snack break and slug time, we were ready to enjoy more of the sunshine. Drew was browsing trip advisor for some suggestions since I wasn’t really feeling the activities on our itinerary, and he came across a suggestion of Kuirau Park, which was only 800m from our room. This was a very beautiful and interesting walk, because throughout this park are countless geothermal springs! I was absolutely fascinated by the different colours and steaming surfaces, and the way that the sulphur leaking from beneath the ground creates silica that coats everything it touches in white crystals. I lost track of how many we saw and how long we were out walking, but it made for a fun afternoon. 

Our only plan left was attending a cultural night at Mitai Maori Village. This family owned and run tour consisted of live displays of Maori history and culture, as well as performances of singing and dancing. I got unexpectedly emotional while watching this family share their culture with the crowd, their passion for their roots and willingness to teach was phenomenal. We were even treated to their tribe’s haka, which I felt deep in my chest. I’ll include a video I took of the men of the tribe rowing their war canoe into the stream in front of us, displaying their chants and war cries. 

This stream is entirely fed by their Sacred Spring which we were lucky enough to see, and also to drink water from it during our hangi dinner. The buffet spread was full of traditional Maori foods, and they were all so good! Once we finished up with our meal, there was a Q&A session with our host of the night, where people could learn just that little bit more about the culture, then we went for a final walk into the dark forest to see some glow worms and a fortified village that would have been how the Maori lived traditionally in this area. 

I found the whole night to be genuinely fascinating, and I would recommend anyone who wants to open their mind a bit to Maori culture make the time to attend this village, meet these people and enjoy this incredible experience.