Work-wise, David and I have been up to different projects. I’ve mostly been focusing on agricultural things. The past few days I’ve planted a bed of wildflowers and tilled up two gardens. My hands are well decked in calluses now! David has been fixing up some of the camper vans that Damon owns. He’s getting them ready for the Rugby World Cup which will be taking place in NZ next year.
The intense beauty of the farm.
On Thursday though, we decided to take a break from the simple life and head out to see some of this dazzling country. Rotorua is only a hour or so southeast of here, so we packed up our car (along with seven other people from the farm) and drove through the rolling emerald hills of Waikato to the sulfur-smelling valleys of Rotorua. This area of New Zealand is renowned for its geothermal activity. There are geysers and steaming pools of sulfur water all over the place. Many of the pools are 212 F at the surface, so touching them isn’t an option.
It was raining most of the day, so we decided to go to a Maori village by the name of:
aka Whaka for short. =)
It’s been a traditional village for a very long time due to its proximity to the thermal springs. About 25 Maori families still live in the village and implements the springs for their own use. They still wash their clothes, cook and bathe using the water in the springs. They don’t pipe it to their houses. Instead they bathe and cook outside!! Our guide took us around the village and showed us all the different springs where they do all of the different things. It was quite fascinating. Apparently they bathe communally (kind of like the jimjilbangs in South Korea). The village is so riddled with these thermal springs that they can no longer build new houses there because all of the land on bedrock has been used up. If they build somewhere other that bedrock, their houses could risk collapsing into a newly formed spring!
Because it was so chilly and rainy outside, the springs were steaming a lot more than normal. The whole village was coated in this otherworldly fog from the springs. A lot of it reminded me of the dead marshes from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The springs themselves has a really cool aquamarine color. Others had turned the rocks around them an eggy yellow color. Most of the place smelled like eggs too!
The buildings and mists of Whaka village.
One of the highlights of the village was the cultural show they put on for us. The native Maori did dances and songs from their culture. One of the ancient war dances involved widening their eyes and sticking their tongues out. They says it’s a symbol of defiance: an attempt to frighten away the enemy before the fight. They’ve even translated it into modern kiwi culture: New Zealand’s rugby team performs it during every game!
Performing the Haka.
Unfortunately, the constant rain deterred us from doing much else in Rotorua. We wanted to go do some other things, like hiking and seeing some glowworm caves, but the showers didn’t let up, so we headed back to the farm. We’ve decided to go back another day. There’s just so much to see and do here! One of the newer couples who’ve arrived to the farm, Frank and Penny, are actually moving here permanently from Saskatchewan. The more time we spend here, the more it doesn’t look like a bad idea. (Don’t worry, Mom, we’re not actually moving here.)
Much love to everyone back on the homefront (stateside and koreaside!).
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