We left Queenstown early after breakfast on our charter plane for Rotorua and visited the Te Puia Maori Cultural Center in the Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley. We had a Maori welcoming ceremony with songs and dances and a tour of the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute. Pohutu Geyser was spectacular.
Weaving School, Maori Cultural Center
Carving School, Maori Cultural Center
Presentation of traditional Maori songs and dances, Maori Cultural Center
Pohutu Geyser, Rotorua
After a quick tour of Rotorua, we drove to Longland’s Dairy Farm for lunch and then through Matamata (but the Hobbiton set was, sadly, not on our tour) and on to Auckland.
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