Rotarua Fun Day

Wifi is very slow, but working so I’ll chance a blip for today.

Later start this morning, which meant a leisurely breakfast - a real treat on this tour:-). We were booked on the DUKW tour, an original relic from WW2, which took us along the roads and up hills at a stand still pace, then drove straight into a couple of the beautiful lakes round Rotarua:-)

That would have been fun enough, but the enjoyment was increased when our driver Shelley (the only female driver of these vehicles) handed out duck quacks and encouraged us to blow them with great gusto at tourists, locals and especially cyclists! Very childish, but very hilarious:-)

A walk to the local shops was rather further than I had apprecated in the afternoon and I struggled on the way back in the heat. However, we had a rest before setting out again this evening for another super experience - a visit to the Maori Village.

We were taken by coach with a very amusing Maori driver to the Village, where we were able to learn a lot about the culture and customs of this proud race. We were also treated to a delicious meal cooked in pits in the ground in the traditional way. The whole evening was fantastic and not too tourist-y, as many of these events can be.

The journey back on the coach was a hoot, with groups of each nationality having to sing a song. We were the only Scots, so naturally chose Auld Lang Syne which everyone else knew and could join in. Right at the end of the trip, the driver got us all to sing “She’ll be coming round the mountain” and then proceeded to drive round a roundabout about six times, to the bewilderment of waiting traffic. Highly illegal, but extremely funny:-)

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that Maoris have no sense of humour:-)