Day 4 - Rotorua activities

Today started out cold. We drove to one of the most popular Agrotourism features in New Zealand called the Agrodome. They got started out by sharing the 19 most popular sheep breeds in New Zealand. These included a wide variety of breeds including Suffolk and Merino. The sheep entered one by one onto varied platform levels creating a mountain. The sheep that represented each breed were prize winning rams. The host of the show introduced a frightened ewe to the crowd. He then calmed the ewe by laying it on her back. This procedure helps when shearing sheep. The host then performed an incredibly fast shearing procedure. He then threw the shorn wool into the crowd for them to investigate. We learned that there is A grade and B grade wool. B grade is stained wool that will never be as clean as A grade wool. The next display was a Kiwi milking cow. A Kiwi milking cow is comprised of a Friesen Holstein crossed with a Jersey. He then went picked several people out of the crowd to come up on stage. Kendall was one of the ones that was picked. She then proceeded to milk the cow. Jennifer, Peter and Jessica volunteered to come up on stage and were told they were going to be doing a New Zealand drinking race while given lamb feeding bottles. After a little joking around, four lambs were released and began sucking the milk from the bottles inevitably declaring a winner of the drinking contest. A German women won the race. He then brought out a Border Collie, which in New Zealand is called an Eye Dog. He showed the crowd how the dogs works on commands and the discipline of the dog using ducks. The last display he brought out a Huntaway dog, which is another herding dog. This dog showed everyone a trick, by jumping from back to back on all the sheep. 

Group at the Agrodome

Sheep breed display at Agrodome

We then left the Agrodome to go to Te Puia, which is a world recognized geothermal geyser.  There are only three countries in the world that have geysers; New Zealand, United States and Iceland. We were further introduced to the Maori culture which included their 12 spiritual gods. We learned about a stone of jade, which is surrounded by a pool of water. This represents the “breath of life.” There is a ritual that Maori’s do and other nationalities do in respect for the land and safe travels. To receive Sky father and Earth mother’s blessing, you had to rub the water into the stone. We then started to walk down to the Geyser and were told that the “Indicator” and a large geyser continually go off for 30 to 40 minutes and rest for the same time. Once the “Indicator” geyser shuts offs, then the “Big Splash” geyser goes off. This is the largest geyser in the southern hemisphere. When the water comes out of the ground it is 95 degrees Celsius. There are thermal vents all over parts of New Zealand where people are allowed to use them as thermal baths and for cooking vegetables and seafood. Meat is not allowed to be cooked due to the discoloration it causes and the build-up of lard. This is the healthiest way of cooking. These mud pits are a natural remedy of arthritis and also used in beauty products. We were unfortunate to not be able to see the Kiwi bird since it was resting. 

    

Pohutu Geyser at the Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve

 

We then learned about the Tumunui Maori Lands Trust. The concept of this dairy is the share milker operation. The Tumunui Maori Lands Trust owns the Maori land while the share milker owns the herd of cattle. The profits are split 50/50 between the two partners. They are in the process of building a new rotary barn that holds 60 head. This operation currently milks once a day at 4 a.m. and starting to turn most of their day into twice a day milkers. They have one of the largest spreads in the dairy industry in New Zealand. Due to this, the cattle have a less output of milk solids per cow than the average New Zealand dairy cow of 3 kilograms. We also learned that there is a minimum of 4 weeks of vacation regulated by the national government; however, official holidays it comes to a total of 6 weeks. 

Rotary milking system at the Tumunui Maori Lands Trust

 

Chief at the Maori Hangi

We traveled back again by a bus supported by a Maori tribe. On the way to the Maori Hangi, which is a traditional Maori feast, Austin was selected to be our tribal chief. Once we got there, we were welcomed by a traditional welcoming dance. We visited different stations within the forest each describing a different attribute of Maori culture. For instance, we learned about weaving and war dances. We then all gathered around a thermal vent, which was cooking our dinner for the evening. Then we proceeded inside to watch and hear more tribal dances and music. After that was all done, we had a buffet style meal including lamb, fish, and chicken. At the end of the night we celebrated the meal and listened to a few more songs before we made our trek back to the hotel. Once we got back to the hotel, we celebrate Cady’s birthday with a yummy chocolate cake.

Cady with her birthday cake

 

Good night!