Hot stuff

Bubbling hotpools in the Whakarewarewa geothermal field near Rotorua have been used for hundreds of years for bathing, washing, warmth and also – impressively – for cooking. A traditional Maori cooking method involves lowering flax baskets loaded with fresh food into boiling geothermal pools, where it cooks within minutes. On the menu might be mussels, prawns, sweetcorn, eggs and watercress, served with a pinch of smoked horopito and a hint of sulphur.