Worms in Waitomo and Dinner in Rotorua

Another early start got us to Waitomo around noon. Waitomo is home of the glow worm caves. Caves where bio-luminescent larvae hang from the ceiling. There are several ways to see them but the most entertaining seemed to be the tubing option. So with 2 guides (including a guy with only one top tooth named Winnie the Pooh) and wearing welly boots, diving suits and miner's helmets we descended into darkness.
It's amazing. The worms make shifting constellations as you float under them. You also get to slide down 2 small waterfalls for a little added excitement. But the cool part really was the view.

The bus company doesn't always plan well for meal breaks (depending on the driver) so I was starving by the time we rolled into Rotorua but I down a powerbar and tried to save room because tonight was a big night. I was going to the Maori Hangi and Haka. The Hangi is a traditional Maori meal cooked on volcanic rocks that are heated all day on a pire before they are buried in a pit with the food to slow cook. The Haka is the traditional greeting dance that the Maori use to intimidate enemies and measure the bravery of friends. It's not a perfect description but if you want a better one, well you obviously have the Internet, go look it up and report back.
The show was at Tamaki, an historical Maori village set-up just outside town. It was great although at times very touristy and a little to softened toward that end but I had a great time. The show started with representatives from each shuttle bus acting as visiting chiefs having to stand up and face the Haka, followed by a walk through village and a concert of traditional Maori musical arts, most of which was backed with a less than historically accurate guitar.
For dinner I sat with a bunch of other people from Magic Bus and I was already making friends so it was really comfortable. i didn't feel at all like I was on my own and the food was good. In the end though my favorite part was right at the end. All the people who work there are actual Maori and as out shuttle bus drivers stood up to collect us they stopped and performed a Haka. This was what I wanted to see. It was something genuine, part of their living history. It felt like we were for a moment not watching a show, but guests in their home.