Honeymoon Day 3 - Agrodome and Maori Vilage
Day 3 was a very busy day. We had a morning tour booked at the Agrodome (use your best deep booming announcer voice for the best experience), and an evening banquet and tour at the Mitai Maori Village and Rainbow Springs animal Park. In between, we had planned to visit the Rotorua museum, but it was closed due to earthquake damage. It was a funny echo of the Louvre being closed in Paris due to flood - what's next on our natural disaster museum closure tour?
Anyway, on to the Agrodome. The Agrodome is a working farm that is also set up to do farm shows and tours. Originally, it was established at the request of the government of New Zealand as a sheep show at the world expo on Osaka, Japan. It went so well that they decided to give it a go back home as an attraction. It has been open, in one form or another, ever since, and has become one of the country's top attractions.
We started at the farm show, which introduced us to the different kinds of sheep raised in New Zealand and what they were good for. Some are great for meat, others for wool, some a mix of both. I never knew there were so many kinds of sheep and how well they could be trained. Each one ran right up to its spot on the podium and enjoyed their little snack, then just hung out until it was time for the audience to come up and pet them after the show.
The show also included a sheep-shearing demonstration, which was really interesting to watch. The guy running the show was very entertaining, catering well to the multi-national audience assembled. He sheared the sheep in just a couple of minutes (and that was while explaining to us all the methods and messing around), then we also got a sheepdog demonstration, as well as cow milking (glad we didn't get picked from the audience for that), and lamb feeding. After, we got on stage to check out the sheep. They are an interesting animal, kind of oily from the lanolin in their wool, and very docile. I was also surprised that their horns were warm because of blood flow through them.
After the show we got on a big trailer pulled by a tractor for the farm tour. We saw the different kinds of cattle they raise there, as well as sheep, alpaca, and deer. They also grow kiwi and feijoa, another kind of fruit that is sweet and tangy. We made multiple stops to feed the animals, starting with the sheep, of course. I had no idea that sheep have no upper front teeth, but rather a hard palette. This is true of all ruminators, and makes it a little less scary to feed them, I will admit. The sheep were SO insistent about getting their food, bumping against you and nuzzling you with their heads. A bit rude, really.
We also fed alpaca and even a deer, both of which were much more chill about their food. The alpaca were also quite soft, and had some of the strangest looking eyes I've seen. I didn't get a good picture here, but their pupils are horizontal lines instead of circles and they had really light blue irises. The deer below was really cool to feed. Here on this farm they raised the deer for their antler velvet, not their meat. The velvet is used I think primarily in Chinese medicine (what isn't really), and is a good export.
We also stopped to try some kiwi juice, and some local honey, both of which are about as New Zealand as you can get. The honey we tried was a blend of Manuka honey and clover honey, and was more like a paste than the honey we are used to back home. It was delicious - very flavorful and you could just eat it with a spoon. We bought some of it to make peanut butter and honey sandwiches later, and carried the remainder home to enjoy. At the farm, we also bought some wool goods - two hats and a scarf. The best wool they had was actually a blend of wool and possum fur, which surprised me. It's not only warmer and softer but lighter as well!
After the farm, we attempted to go to the museum and failed, so we hung out at the hotel before going to the grocery store for the aforementioned peanut butter and honey, some bananas, and some local snacks - chicken flavored chips, better than expected. We also hit up the sporting goods store across the parking lot to see if they had any RPM brand disc golf disks. RPM is a New Zealand company and they don't sell the discs in store here. Turns out they did have a good starter pack, so we got one and checked out the local disc golf course!
The course was one of the worst marked courses I've ever been on, unfortunately, and we ended up not even trying to keep track of which hole we were on. It was situated on the edge of a redwood forest and a tree farm, which was some super cool scenery. It was so nice to get out and do some low-key outdoor activity though.
After disc golf we changed and went up to the Mitai Maori village for a traditional Hangi dinner and show. Hangi is a type of pit cooking method, where a pit is dug out and food is steamed/smoked in baskets. They've adapted it to modern living, using a concrete pit, foil, and a metal lid rather than covering everything with dirt (luckily). Our host was again pretty amazing - he greeted guests from all over the globe in what had to be more than a dozen languages. He knew how to say hello, nice to meet you, and chocolate cake!
Before dinner was served though we had a show of traditional Maori arts. I didn't capture a good picture of the first attraction, which was a group of Maori men paddling up the river in a war canoe and chanting/sticking out their tongues. The lighting was not conducive to pictures in the Haka show either, but I managed a few pictures, shown below. We saw a traditional greeting, where they picked a couple people from the crowd and had them approach the chief, who laid down a silver fern branch as a peace offering. They picked up the fern, and gave a short speech about why they had come. One "tribe of many nations" leader offered up a song to the Maori chief, as is traditional. We all joined in with "You Are My Sunshine", and it was really a neat experience hearing a couple hundred people from all over the world singing together as one without any real preparation to speak of.
Then we saw demonstrations of traditional Maori music - the conch shell, singing, drumming, traditional dance - the Haka, and some games - poi balls, and a stick game/dance. It was really interesting and fun. We learned as well about the facial tattoos and what their significance was. The tattoos are composed of representations of four birds, and grow as the member of the tribe demonstrates their ability in different areas. The chief has the most extensive tattoos, as is to be expected. After the show, dinner was quite delicious, especially the sweet potatoes (kumara).
After dinner, we went with a guide to Rainbow Springs, where we got to check out some native animals. We were there for the after dark tour to have our best chance of seeing kiwi birds, which are nocturnal. No photography allowed, but let me say that kiwi birds are adorable. They are a bit bigger than I expected, standing a foot or so tall, and they walk around on the ground rooting in the soil for grubs. Some interesting facts about kiwis: they have marrow in their bones, unlike other birds, and their nostrils are at the very ends of their beaks! Because New Zealand has no native land mammals, birds had few predators and several evolved into flightless creatures. More on that another day when we visit the kiwis in Franz Josef!
Anyway, on to the Agrodome. The Agrodome is a working farm that is also set up to do farm shows and tours. Originally, it was established at the request of the government of New Zealand as a sheep show at the world expo on Osaka, Japan. It went so well that they decided to give it a go back home as an attraction. It has been open, in one form or another, ever since, and has become one of the country's top attractions.
We started at the farm show, which introduced us to the different kinds of sheep raised in New Zealand and what they were good for. Some are great for meat, others for wool, some a mix of both. I never knew there were so many kinds of sheep and how well they could be trained. Each one ran right up to its spot on the podium and enjoyed their little snack, then just hung out until it was time for the audience to come up and pet them after the show.
The show also included a sheep-shearing demonstration, which was really interesting to watch. The guy running the show was very entertaining, catering well to the multi-national audience assembled. He sheared the sheep in just a couple of minutes (and that was while explaining to us all the methods and messing around), then we also got a sheepdog demonstration, as well as cow milking (glad we didn't get picked from the audience for that), and lamb feeding. After, we got on stage to check out the sheep. They are an interesting animal, kind of oily from the lanolin in their wool, and very docile. I was also surprised that their horns were warm because of blood flow through them.
After the show we got on a big trailer pulled by a tractor for the farm tour. We saw the different kinds of cattle they raise there, as well as sheep, alpaca, and deer. They also grow kiwi and feijoa, another kind of fruit that is sweet and tangy. We made multiple stops to feed the animals, starting with the sheep, of course. I had no idea that sheep have no upper front teeth, but rather a hard palette. This is true of all ruminators, and makes it a little less scary to feed them, I will admit. The sheep were SO insistent about getting their food, bumping against you and nuzzling you with their heads. A bit rude, really.
We also fed alpaca and even a deer, both of which were much more chill about their food. The alpaca were also quite soft, and had some of the strangest looking eyes I've seen. I didn't get a good picture here, but their pupils are horizontal lines instead of circles and they had really light blue irises. The deer below was really cool to feed. Here on this farm they raised the deer for their antler velvet, not their meat. The velvet is used I think primarily in Chinese medicine (what isn't really), and is a good export.
We also stopped to try some kiwi juice, and some local honey, both of which are about as New Zealand as you can get. The honey we tried was a blend of Manuka honey and clover honey, and was more like a paste than the honey we are used to back home. It was delicious - very flavorful and you could just eat it with a spoon. We bought some of it to make peanut butter and honey sandwiches later, and carried the remainder home to enjoy. At the farm, we also bought some wool goods - two hats and a scarf. The best wool they had was actually a blend of wool and possum fur, which surprised me. It's not only warmer and softer but lighter as well!
After the farm, we attempted to go to the museum and failed, so we hung out at the hotel before going to the grocery store for the aforementioned peanut butter and honey, some bananas, and some local snacks - chicken flavored chips, better than expected. We also hit up the sporting goods store across the parking lot to see if they had any RPM brand disc golf disks. RPM is a New Zealand company and they don't sell the discs in store here. Turns out they did have a good starter pack, so we got one and checked out the local disc golf course!
The course was one of the worst marked courses I've ever been on, unfortunately, and we ended up not even trying to keep track of which hole we were on. It was situated on the edge of a redwood forest and a tree farm, which was some super cool scenery. It was so nice to get out and do some low-key outdoor activity though.
After disc golf we changed and went up to the Mitai Maori village for a traditional Hangi dinner and show. Hangi is a type of pit cooking method, where a pit is dug out and food is steamed/smoked in baskets. They've adapted it to modern living, using a concrete pit, foil, and a metal lid rather than covering everything with dirt (luckily). Our host was again pretty amazing - he greeted guests from all over the globe in what had to be more than a dozen languages. He knew how to say hello, nice to meet you, and chocolate cake!
Before dinner was served though we had a show of traditional Maori arts. I didn't capture a good picture of the first attraction, which was a group of Maori men paddling up the river in a war canoe and chanting/sticking out their tongues. The lighting was not conducive to pictures in the Haka show either, but I managed a few pictures, shown below. We saw a traditional greeting, where they picked a couple people from the crowd and had them approach the chief, who laid down a silver fern branch as a peace offering. They picked up the fern, and gave a short speech about why they had come. One "tribe of many nations" leader offered up a song to the Maori chief, as is traditional. We all joined in with "You Are My Sunshine", and it was really a neat experience hearing a couple hundred people from all over the world singing together as one without any real preparation to speak of.
Then we saw demonstrations of traditional Maori music - the conch shell, singing, drumming, traditional dance - the Haka, and some games - poi balls, and a stick game/dance. It was really interesting and fun. We learned as well about the facial tattoos and what their significance was. The tattoos are composed of representations of four birds, and grow as the member of the tribe demonstrates their ability in different areas. The chief has the most extensive tattoos, as is to be expected. After the show, dinner was quite delicious, especially the sweet potatoes (kumara).
After dinner, we went with a guide to Rainbow Springs, where we got to check out some native animals. We were there for the after dark tour to have our best chance of seeing kiwi birds, which are nocturnal. No photography allowed, but let me say that kiwi birds are adorable. They are a bit bigger than I expected, standing a foot or so tall, and they walk around on the ground rooting in the soil for grubs. Some interesting facts about kiwis: they have marrow in their bones, unlike other birds, and their nostrils are at the very ends of their beaks! Because New Zealand has no native land mammals, birds had few predators and several evolved into flightless creatures. More on that another day when we visit the kiwis in Franz Josef!
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