Day 6: Monday, Feb 25, Waitomo/Rotorua

Cave coral.

On Monday we got up to do an early tour of another cave, this one known for its cave formations. We had an excellent tour guide who used to be a teacher. They recently did over $2M in renovations inside the cave and our guide worked on the project. The cave name (Ruakuri) means Two Dogs. It was found when a Maori killed two wild dogs who lived in the entrance to the cave. The dog-skin coat that was made for the tribal chief became a symbol that still exists. There are about 5.3 kilometers of tunnels and the recent renovation opened up a lot more of the cave. They did a very good job opening the cave without disturbing formations – the track winds around stone rather than plowing through it.

After the tour we drove to Rotorua. As we neared town we ended up behind a van with a 12^th Man Foundation bumper sticker. We managed to drive up next to them and got a loud, enthusiastic “gig’em” as we drove by. I think that made my day.

When we got into town we went to a “hangi feast.” It’s supposed to be a traditional Maori dinner, but it turns out that hangi simply means “slow roasted” as best we can tell. We ended up with a good Maori culture show and a pretty good NZ dinner of lamb, vegetables, etc. Part of the show was the performance of a haka. I’m not sure what technically defines a haka (you see shirts with the “New Zealand haka”) but its performance involves squatting, slapping your thighs, yelling, and making faces. Go ahead, do it in the mirror. If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it correctly. However, I can imagine how it would be intimidating.

This was also the first time we had Hokey Pokey ice cream. Hokey Pokey ice cream is the New Zealand classic. We asked someone what it was at a grocery store and we were told that it is “vanilla ice cream with Hokey Pokey in it.” (We were shocked…) The next question was what Hokey Pokey is. That question has an odd effect around here – we have asked several people and they all get this puzzled look and can’t quite explain it. The best we got was that it was “honeycomb bits.” After tasting it I’m pretty sure it’s butterscotch.

We went to a Pak ‘n’ Save grocery to pick up a few things. Cole’s and Woolworth’s seem to be the big grocery chains here, and PnS seemed to be their version of Sam’s. Anyone want 5.4kg (about 12 pounds) of strawberry jam? (They also sell hot cross buns, which we sampled.)