Phew, Who Farted?

(karen)
One of the places I was really looking forward to visiting in New Zealand was the town of Rotorua. There is a lot of geothermal activity here which is punctuated by the everpresent stench of sulphur in the air. In a way it's like a mini Yellowstone but since much of the land is privately owned they have no qualms about charging you a fortune to visit the boiling pools of mud and acid. Our first stop was at Hell's Gate, just outside of town. It wasn't especially colorful but was extremely active. My favorite was the mud volcano, and a hot waterfall where Maori warriors used to heal their wounds and cleanse themselves of battle before returing home.





After Hell's Gate we drove to the Agrodome for the no holds barred, agricultural tourist experience of a lifetime! We were introduced to the sixteen different breeds of sheeps in New Zealand and then given a sheep shearing demonstration by our strapping young host.


Here I am with my new buddy. I offered to take a picture of Steve with the sheep, but he reminded me that he is allergic to every animal in the facility.



Other highlights of the show were watching little kids try to milk a cow, and getting to feed baby lambs with a milk bottle. Steve and I were both picked to go on stage but he sacrificed his spot so he could get a photo. I must never think of this moment when eating lamb in the future!


I was especially impressed with the sheep herding dogs they have trained since pups. They are very skilled and extremely intense. If I was stared down by one of these dogs I'd run like hell too! The best part was when they jumped up and did laps on the backs of the sheep.


To round off our time in Rotorua, we attended a traditional Maori concert and hangi (kind of like the equivalent of a luau). It was fascinating to see the recreations of the pre-European Maori village life, as well as to hear the folk songs and watch the intimidating haka. It had a touch of cheesy tourism, but I still enjoyed the experience.