Rotorua

Rotorua, situated in the center of the North Island is the center of Maori culture in New Zealand. Here you can experience a performance in a Maori meeting house as well as a traditional Hangi, a dinner cooked on hot stones for many hours in a pit in the ground. Usually you will also get an introduction into Maori tradition and the way it is kept alive today.

Rotorua and its surroundings are also a geolocially very active area of New Zealand. Therefore, many hot springs, volcanoes, geysirs, hot bubbeling mud pools and the like are found here.

The Champaigne Pool in the Waiotapu valley is one such hot pool. It looks pretty but it actually contains a poisenous water laced with arsenic, cadmium and mercury. Around the edge of the pool carbon dioxide gas constantly bubbles come out of the ground which makes the lake look like sparkeling wine. Hence its name.

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