roadtrip: part III

on saturday we had the chance to take the boat out on Lake Terawera.  it was warm and sunny, perfect weather for a day out on the water.  we unsuccessfully attempted to catch some trout, made a visit to hot water beach, and jumped off a few cliffs. 

hot water beach was the craziest thing ever, you don't even have to dig your feet in to the sand, just walking over the sand, is so hot.  and if you weren't careful you could easily get burned.  the lake itself was cold, but you could find little pockets of steamy water, like little mini hot tubs,  such a crazy concept.  

on saturday, we attended a authentic maori hangi. the local maori family put on a concert, and then served us a feast. the food during a hangi is cooked in the ground, and heated by the natural steam for about 4 hours. the result is tender chicken and lamb that comes out having a smoked flavor that was delicious.  

after a walk through the woods, a canoe came down the river, filled with maori warriors who led us to their "village" so that we could watch traditional maori sword fighting. 

the last week was so much fun. i want a re-do. i fed lambs, milked cows, swam in thermal pools, attended a authentic maori Hangi, ate my first savory pie, went trout fishing and boating, visited hot water beach, hung out with baby lion cubs and spent about 15 hours in the car.  it was so fun to see a different part of the country, and to do it with locals.  i will upload pics of all the adventures, first up, an afternoon at the dairy farm.

the family that lives on this farm are friends with people from work.  the husband and wife do all of the farming and milking.  they have about 250 cows that need to be milked at 6am and 3pm everyday.  and its takes about two hours to round them up, put them through the machines and then back around to the pasture.  it was so crazy to see how everything operates, and how much work goes into it.

all the milk comes out of the suction hoses and into these vats.  this is where it is cooled and stored until the trucks pick it up 

this is wear the cows are hooked up to the suction cups.  in the far right corner you can see one of the contraptions. there are 28 being milked at a time.

tasting warm milk. not good. not good at all.