Rotorua and Taupo

The Tongariro Crossing is near Lake Taupo (central North Island), where my dad and I in 1996 fished while Mt. Ruapehu, one of the active volacones making up Tongariro's three peaks, erupted. Before doing the crossing, Julie and I stopped at Lake Taupo, and then continued onto Rotarua (another hour north, about 6 from Wellington), which is known for two things: lots and lots of geysers and hot springs, and being the Maori cultural culture.

It is common to take in a cultural event or two, usually involving some sort of ritual, song/dance/Haka, and Hangi (feast). We decided to go to what turned out to be the glitziest of them all, the Tamaki Maori Experience, an event/center put together by the Tamaki brothers who thought that visitors needed to get an "authentic" feel for traditional Maori life. They've apparently grown quite prosperous in the process. Anyway, this was one of the more Disney-fied events out there, I think, but we still got something out of it (dance/Haka and food come to mind).