We have been staying in Taupo (pronounced "toe paw" in Maori) for the last few days and move on to Wellington in the morning. In the last two days we have visited Orakei Korako which is a geothermal area a few miles north of Taupo. It is a wonderful place full of interesting geothermal activities including geysers, bubbling hot mud and silica beds of various colours as a result of flowing very hot water from deep underground. Locally, this geothermal resource is used as an energy source.
Last night we visited a Maori village and enjoyed Maori dancing, singing and cooking. It was a good introduction to the Maori culture which is important to New Zealand. These two girls are demonstrating how they weave flax bags. The Maori people started to arrive in NZ from Polynesia some 1000 years ago.See http://history-nz.org/maori.html
Today we drove around Mount Ruapehu which, although snow capped, frequently erupts into violent activity. Luckily it was benign today. This mountain is visible from our hotel bed across Lake Taupo when the weather is clear.
No comments:
Post a Comment