After booking in at our hotel and lunching in the sunshine, Clodagh and I visited the nearby St Faith's Anglican Church. This Tudor-style church, built in 1910, has beautiful etched glass windows, including one overlooking Rotorua Lake depicting Christ dressed in a Maori chief's cloak and appearing to walk on the waters of the lake. The interior is richly embellished with Maori carvings and woven wall panels.
Rotorua has developed on the site of what was the Maori settlement of Ohinemutu and Lyall told us it is still predominantly a Maori town. Opposite St Faith's is a Maori meeting house of the Arawa tribe.
Clodagh returned to the hotel and I followed the pathway round the lakeside to...
the Rotorua Museum
and to the nearby Government Gardens
In the evening we went to a Maori village of the local Arawa tribe where we were introduced to traditional Maori customs.
Their welcoming ceremony, which does not appear particularly welcoming to our eyes.
They demonstrated some of their games and skills,
showed us the lifting of the Hangi meal, which is cooked underground with hot stones and which we were told we would be eating later,
they entertained us with traditional songs and dances.
we had the buffet Hangi meal and then back to our hotel.
Lyall said he had found it all very moving but Clodagh and I were more sceptical and felt it was a show put on for tourists. It certainly looks a good business venture. We were part of four coaches of people and we saw that another party preceding us which required them to operate two dining rooms, and all at $110 per head!
Robert Cole
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