Day Nineteen

Day 19 - Cultural Visit to Rotorua
Whakarewarewa Thermal Village
Te Puia

Today, under Dr Bronwen Cowie's instruction, I drove to Rotorua to seek out and experience cultural knowledge and history. Whakarewarewa Thermal Village is a living village developed among the thermal hot springs and geysers in Rotorua. The Maori residents live in and run their village as a tourist destination, explaining the importance of the hot springs to their way of life. Children in the village are able to attend a daycare centre in the village where they are able to learn their culture and maintain local language.

The village also has a building that links the geology of the region to Maori knowledge and beliefs. Our tour guide described how the hot springs can be used to steam, grill and boil food. Fumaroles are used to slow cook meats and puddings.

Hot water springs cook food faster the deeper the food is placed into the water. These springs can cook food as quickly as a microwave. The hot water springs also provide a means of cleansing the skin through steaming and by washing in the communal baths.









The mud produced has healing ad cleansing qualities due to the presence of minerals. Rotorua mud contains silica, magnesium, calcium, titanium, iron, sulfur, phosphorous, sodium and potassium. As well as trace elements such copper, zinc, selenium, cobalt and manganese.

Some further properties of Thermal Mud
Antiseptic: destroys pathogenic agents (a bacteria or virus that is capable of causing disease) without attacking adjacent healthy tissue.
Healing: Silica, Aluminium and Zinc are all essential to tissue regeneration, scar prevention and repairing.
Absorbing: drains off infections and absorbs excess fluids.
Sedative: has a sedative action on localised pain.
Remineralising: transmits necessary mineral salts to organism for biological equilibrium.
Rebalancing: provides sufficient mineral salts to enhance the body's natural immune system.