June 8th Blog

I had so much fun today. When we first woke up, we were treated to our first New Zealand breakfast which consisted of pancakes, hasbrowns, and other delicious food. I even ate vegamite on a piece of toast with butter. After we were done with our breakfast, we went outside our hotel and took pictures of the beautiful sunrise. The sun looked so great over the water along with the steam from the geothermal vents. After we took our pictures, we the took a "duck" tour around Rotutura and various lakes in the surrounding area. The trip was extremely beautiful and interesting but the only downside was the it was very cold out so we were all shivering. After the duck tour, we were dropped off in a Maori village called Waka. Inside the village, we saw the Maori people living a unique life dealing with the geothermal vents and using them to their advantage. The tour we went on brought us through the village to the many baths and pools the villagers cook their food in. We also saw the houses and meeting places of the Maori. The tour was very informative and afterward we sampled some of the local cuisine (it was delicious!). The Maori and the Native Americans are alike in many ways, they both have a deep love of nature, the white man took most of their land when they arrived, and they are still around today. Also, both the Maori and the Native Americans both blame nature events on Gods.