I got down to the lake front where there is a promenade so I turned left away from the Government Gardens area which I had already explored. The promenade soon ran out but I kept going just to see what was around the corner. I stumbled across the most amazing place. Ohinemutu which is a Maori settlement that is not just for tourists. It is an original settlement which goes back several hundred years and is still used today. The Maori who live there are delighted to show visitors around for a 'contribution' which is the Maori way. They do not allow coach parties but do cater for tourists like me who stumble on the place. After an hour long show round from a guide I set off to wander around the back lane and found more interesting things. There were pools of boiling water by the road side. 
Some were protected by piles of stones, one large one had a big fence around it. Our guide had said that they regularly used them for cooking and that they also heated their houses by piping the water around. He also showed us the third degree burns he had on one foot. He said this was a common injury for Maori children who forgot about the pools whilst playing.
By lunchtime the sun had come out so in the afternoon I set off for a short drive out of town to see the giant redwoods. As it was quite hot it was a pleasure to do the 30 min walk through the cool woodland. The trees were amazingly big and when I got back to the information centre the woman there told me that these trees grow faster in NZ than they do in California and that they were now as big as the ones on the west coast of America.
By the time I got back into town I was quite hot and I decided to finish off the afternoon with a hot water spa. Against all advice I went to the Polynesian Spa which is right in the centre of town. I had been told that it was expensive and crowded.
I decided to take a risk as I didn't want to drive out of town for 20 mins to the other main spa and I also had been told that the view from the Polynesian Spa across Lake Rotorua was very good. It turned out I was in luck. The spa was quiet and the view was stunning. It was a bit pricey at about $20 but worth every penny.
Finally that evening I went to the Tamaki Maori cultural evening with a traditional 'hangi' cooked meal. I would say that it was about as authentic as a medieval banquet in England but it was still and enjoyable evening. And so home and to bed. Not bad for what I thought was going to be a rainy day.
