After yesterday’s spectacular experience, today was a massive disappointment, comprising largely of artificial events staged just for tourists. We started at a workshop for Maori arts and crafts, proceeded to a geyser which promised to gush but didn’t, then onto a “sheep show” in which all the animals were clearly trained to perform. I even had my photo taken with a kiwi, but anyone who realises that the bird is nocturnal will know that the photo is fake. Worst of all, in the evening we were led into a dinner snd “Maori Show” at which the food was close to inedible and the show’s content was almost an insult to Maori culture. I had not realised how many 50s and 60s pop songs used tunes of Maori origin! To be fair the music was tolerable, but the audience participation segments were utterly unbearable. I came here to see the country and experience its authentic culture, not to see something that would be more suited to Butlins. The only enjoyable part of the day was two hours in the afternoon when two of us walked from the lakeside back to the hotel and got hopelessly lost.
The Beast's Pen 