Rotorua
Rotorua is well-known for its volcanic geysers and mud-pools, and for being a centre of Maori culture. The two combine at Whakarewarewa Thermal Village, where they use the heat of the thermal pools to cook food in the traditional "hangi" style - in which it's buried and left to steam/bake for many hours. For the vegetables, they use the boiling water of the thermal pools directly. I enjoyed a delicious lunch, finishing with the perhaps less traditional Maori dessert of a steamed pudding with custard. They also use the water for communal bathing and other purposes. It's a bit touristy, with dance performances (including a haka, of course), but I did see signs up, obviously meant for local residents, so they clearly do still live there, despite the tours every day.
Surprisingly, however, the best view of the geysers was not from here, nearby, but from a short distance away, in the Redwoods Forest Park. A lovely path led through the part-native, part-introduced forest for a few hours. Looks like a place with plenty of good single-track too - plenty of mountain-bikers out.
Elsewhere in town, boiling mud-pools are a common sight, especially in one of the public parks.
I also saw croquet being played in Rotorua - another pastime brought over from Britain by the settlers, clearly.