Following up on the very successful “Sheep and Dead Fish” outing I decided the next stop on the kiwi “tour” would be in the land of boiling mud and stenchy sulphur. The land of Rotorua.
Google. Maps. Suck. In New Zealand. A less than direct route to be sure – but we certainly got an eyeful with the giant dog and giant sheep made out of corrugated cardboard along the way. Never seen that before J
Clayton discovered the unique traffic safety ad campaign launched across the highways in NZ. Of course we don’t have a picture of them – and can’t find any posted on the internet – but it is a “clever kiwi” campaign where kiwi birds make wise decisions about their driving, including: clever kiwis nvr txt n drv, clever kiwis take power naps, and Clayton thinks he saw one suggesting that kiwi birds should smoke dope and drive. Clayton.
I had described to Clayton how Rotorua smells….like being trapped inside a massive vat of boiled eggs. As usual he thought I was exaggerating - however I was, if anything, under exaggerating. Rotorua is situated in a geothermal belt powered by sulphur. There are boiling mud holes and steaming water everywhere.
We thought we would visit the Agrodome and catch a Sheep Show as it seemed like a funny/fun thing to do (nothin but mutton), however upon arriving at the Agrodome we discovered it cost $100 to watch some dogs chase sheep and watch a sheep shearing. Maybe not a $100 funny.
We mulled over the option to Zorb, or to visit the safari nearby, but ended up deciding on a more cultural experience at Te Puia which was pretty wicked. The singing/dancing reminded me of the luau in Hawaii which brought back awesome memories of romantic photos in front of a setting sun with my cousin Laura 
Te Puia is also the home of the NZ Maori Arts and Crafts Institute which was awesome as well.
I took this - and it rocks
We wandered through Te Puia after the cultural show – in the rain because after a full day of sunshine driving in the car it rained the few moments we had to wander outside – and got rained on by a sulphur geyser. It was not wicked. Clayton hadn’t quite believed me about boiling mud – but I believe this settled that debate.
A boiling mud pool
One day in Rotorua was definitely NOT enough. Apparently we missed out on the luge, and probably a better place for looking at pools of steaming coloured water/mud (Wai-O-Tapu) not to mention the Lord of the Rings tour at nearby Lake Taupo, so I guess we will just have to go back to Rotorua.