Zorbing, Waimangu, Maori Culture Experience

Caution: Julie wrote this post

From the dark depths of the cave to the beautiful sunny day above ground, the next day presented itself with zorbing.  For those of you who don’t know (which I think is pretty much everyone), zorbing is basically a huge ball with water inside of it, one then gets into the ball and rolls down the hill.  Below are the videos of Monica, Katie, and Julie’s adventure down the hill and Matt and Lyle’s adventure (Justin went separately).

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The track we ventured down
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Matt and Lyle being goofy

After zorbing, we gallivanted over to Waimangu volcanic valley.  This is a hydrothermal volcanic environment.  It is one of two hydrothermal systems in the world, the other one being Yellowstone.  This one is newer, however, erupting about one hundred years ago.  This was our first hike and the first opportunity for we winter folk to get some sun.  In the pictures for tomorrow you will notice who wore their sunscreen…

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Katie, Monica, and Julie at the scenic overlook
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Lyle beside the bubbly water

Next on the list was the Tamaki Maori Village cultural experience.  These are people who made their way from Tahiti and developed their homeland in NZ.  We were able to learn about their culture through interactive activities including playing games, training for war, and using balls on strings to teach the flight pattern of birds and train warriors using a beat (Katie performed this last one , therefore, some unfortunate warriors would have been off beat).  We also had a smorgasbord of food making us feel like we were at Thanksgiving dinner.  The most intriguing part was the war dance they performed.  These warriors do a dance and use their facial expressions to scare the enemy.

The final war dance
The final war dance
Julie competing for the title of "super Maori"
Julie competing for the title of “super Maori”
Some Warriors doing their war dance
Some Warriors doing their war dance
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Katie training warriors

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