From Wellington, we pushed north through the center of the North Island to see the volcanoes, hot pools and Maori cultural events at Rotorua. Along the way we passed through Turangi, reputedly the trout fishing capital of the world, and we saw some fine specimens. We attended a hangi feast prefaced by a demonstration of Maori warrior facial grimaces and other tactics designed to intimidate the enemy, and we saw some recreated whare (houses) and recovered artifacts at the Buried Village of Te Wairoa, the excavated remains of a village destroyed by a volcanic eruption at the turn of the last century.