After we docked in Tauraga, we visited the village of Tewhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao (Whaka for short). This is an actual village with about 70 Maori. We stopped for a photo at the village welcome center. We weren’t permitted indoors because it is sacred.

This village is on thermal steam vents, which are in active volcanic areas. Not long ago they had to evacuate the village due to a volcanic eruption. Fortunately, nobody was hurt and no damage was done.

Their entertainment troupe performed dances and songs for us. So far as I can tell, these were authentic. The man in the center is supposed to have his tongue out and his eyes bulged. It creates a fearsome image and helps the warrior prepare for war.

There were 39 passengers in our tour. Our bus driver was the worst ever. He told us he had to use a backup bus because this bus was in an accident yesterday — somebody drove into the bus. He twice had to stop short because he didn’t yield right of way to traffic entering a round about. He never told us when the bus was going to return. One of the passengers had to go back and ask. When it was time to go back to the ship, he counted the passengers and started to leave a couple of minutes early. If we hadn’t called out, he would have left three people behind. One of the passengers asked if he counted people. He said “I counted 46 before those three showed up.” On the way back to the boat, he drove over a large rock that was in the center of a round about. His reaction was to laugh about it. I’m convinced he was responsible for the accident yesterday. I don’t think he will be driving tour buses for long.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.