Perched on the edge of a caldera on a crater lake, Rotorua is a land of geothermal activity as well as the center of Maori culture. Here’s what we found when we visited this hot springs resort town.

This is Te Puia’s Whakarewarewa Valley where we found geysers which popped up in the most unexpected places.

and the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute

with traditional wood carving instruction and other cultural skills taught to their students to make sure their culture does not get lost in time.

I call this city the Roto-Rooter city, because its name is somewhat easier to remember that way. It is pronounced Roto-Ruah.

This is a hot springs health resort, and we especially loved the gardens

surrounding the old hot springs hotel,

which sadly is no longer used.

This is a city of earthquakes, but thankfully we were spared any “big wiggles” from the ground below, though it didn’t make me sleep any better knowing we were sleeping on the side of a caldera.

We learned about the Maori,

their traditions,

and their fierce warrior culture.

They fed us a meal that was somewhat similar to our Hawaiian Luau.

We spent two days here and really enjoyed walking throughout the town. It is springtime here in October, and their azaleas were blooming.

And we got to have our picture taken with a Kiwi. No, it is not real because they are nocturnal and to do this with a live Kiwi would be abusive. We did get to see them in a nocturnal environment, but they were hard to view.