Te Puia
Is New Zealand's premier Maori culture center and it included the Whakarewarea Thermal Valley.
left:
Marnie at the entrance of Te Puia. She had been my English teacher in Japan before and now she was living in the North Island. We'd met each other for the first time in more than one year. She came and saw me in Rotorua from her home. Thank you very much for coming all the way!

There were lots of the tradisional Maori houses and you can see how Maoris lived there such a geothermal area.
left:
Marnie and Andy, her friend. They were exactly the same as before as and they still looked good!

There was plenty of steam rising from boiling muds and hot water here and there. The air was filled with the smell of sulfur and it was a quite strange place.

Even though it was unfortunately raining, we walked around the thermal vally shivering in the rain.
center:I heard that one of the geysers there erupted up to over 30 meters high, depending on its mood. According to the sign, it erupts about once an hour.

There were a number of mud pools, which were bubbling constantly, colorful springs and exploding geysers. I sometimes felt a sudden temptation to jump into the mud pools because of the terrible cold!

You can see a Maori traditional dance at 12:10p.m daily in a meeting house.
center, right:
The Huka and Maori Poi dance are performed. The Huka is the most famouse Maori performance. New Zealand's rugby team, All Blacks, does it at the start of every match.

The carvings on the ceiling and walls recorded the history and traditions. I'm sure that it must be interesting if I could understand them.