Monday, February 7, 2011

Day #5. Rotorua.

It appears as if I am to hang with the elderly population this trip.  It's not a bad thing.  I like old people.  But I was kind of expecting to be with kids more my own age.  

The only seat left on the Magic Bus this morning was next to a very sweet, white haired Welsh gentlemen with a rather large belly named "Peter".  His story is sad.  His wife died last July of dementia rather suddenly, and he is embarking on the journey through New Zealand that they had been planning together for 3 years.  Alone :(  I know, heartbreaking.  I feel so bad.  We talked for a bit.  But he kept falling asleep and sort of leaning against me, and he snored, and he smelled…. well, the only way I can describe it is… old??  I'm trying to be nice, but now he is following me around like a lost puppy.  He's actually sitting across from me as we speak.  He booked the same hostel as me.  Went on the same Maori cultural trip this evening that I did.  Sat next to me at my dinner table.  And just recently he informed me that he is in the room next to me.  At a youth hostel and the man is 84 YEARS OLD!!!!!!!  I truly believe he is harmless and only lonely, looking for a traveling friend.  But why me, God?  Why???  I pulled out one of my Hollywood-trash magazines and started to read about Sandra Bullock.  The headline said, "STABBED IN THE HEART."  Peter was very concerned.  "Did she survive?!" he asked.  I had to laugh at that one.  Noooo, it's not literal, I tried to explain.  Her crazy tattooed ex-husband is……. nevermind :)  

The bus was cool though, it really was.  Our driver was a kick and a half!  Young dude with a super thick accent.  It was his 1st day driving too, so he was nervous but did a fantastic job.  We stopped in the middle of nowhere at a little gas station that has a huge "L&P" soda statue out front.  We all bought a bottle of this New Zealander's famous drink.  It tasted like watered down lemonade.  But we got some pics of the statue.  Of course Peter, my shadow, was right there with me.  He tried to get up on the statue's pedestal and almost fell over. 

In the back of the bus were some Americans!  From Iowa, Colorado, California, and Atlanta, Georgia baby!  Crazy thing is, they're all friends and actually knew each other back in the states.  They decided to go on a trip together.  I'm wondering how they are friends but so spread out like that.  Then there were these two Canadian guys who were really funny.  One of them is in the Canadian army.  They would get upset if someone asked them if they're from America.  I guess we're not very popular outside our country!  The other worked on a farm in Australia the past 6 months.  The stories he told of farm life -- specifically the killing of lambs and puppies -- made me really sad.  He said he didn't like it either, but it's the way they do it there.  PETA would throw a fit if they were in Oz land.  We made a stop at the place where they filmed "Lord of the Rings" and the Canadians and a bunch of other peeps got off for a 3-hour tour of "Hobbit Town" while the rest of us fed the very greedy sheep and then continued on.

Rotorua does smell like a rotten egg!!  But it's a crazy cool town.  They definitely capitalize on tourism.  Signs everywhere read: "Skydive Rotorua!!", "World's 1st Zorbe!!!", "Whitewater Raft the River!", "Experience Rotorua Luge!!" and every single action adventure you can think of.  Not to mention there are multiple mineral and mud spas, nature outings, Maori culture experiences, etc etc etc.  It's like the Gatlinberg of New Zealand :D  Of course everything is p-r-i-c-e-y.  So I've picked a few things that I feel are musts, and left the rest out.  After checking into my Kiwi Paka hostel, I took a stroll around the thermal park.  It felt weird to walk across boiling pond water on a wooden bridge.  I could literally feel the steam and I couldn't' stop thinking, "What if this thing gives way? I'll be cooked alive!!!"  The bus driver had warned us, DO NOT jump into the natural thermal pools.  Wtf?!  Like I would even think of doing that!  They are boiling hot.  But he said people have actually done it before.

Tonight I decided to do the whole Maori culture thing.  I figured this is the only time maybe in my life I will do this, and Rotorua is known for their awesome village simulations, so I forked over the $88 for a real, genuine Maori experience.  Complete with dancing, singing, costumes, war paint, language, working village, and finally the "Hangi".  The Hangi is a traditional dinner cooked over coals in an earthen pit, covered with water-soaked linens, topped with soil.  They served us buffet style.  So much food!!!  And since all I'd eaten the entire day was fruit, yogurt, and PB&J, I dug into that buffet son!  2 plates full of food!  Carrots, white yams, potatoes, fish in coconut milk, lamb (I tried one bite… had to, it's New Zealand's national meat), stuffing and gravy, bread and butter, salad, and finally dessert!  Meringue pavlova type stuff and custard with fruit and chocolate cake.  I had such an amazing time!!!  So worth the money.  I will never forget that experience.  The Maori people are really fabulous singers and dancers, too.  The women would twirl these large white dice-like looking things attached to strings.  But the guys looked kind of scary.  They bugged their eyes, yelled, hissed panted, and stuck their tongues out a lot.  They took their war dancing very seriously.  They were pretty much nekked too, except for a loin cloth.  They're not in very good shape for the most part, the Maori people.  But anyways, the whole thing was just amazing.  I would recommend it to anyone!!!

Plan: tomorrow I have the whole day in Rotorua  I really wanna go to the nature park and hold a baby kiwi.  I might check out the Zorbe.  It's a giant ball that you get inside and they roll you down a hill.  Other than that I will prolly just chill.  Everything's so expensive here.  It even costs 20 or 30 bucks just to hang out in a mineral pool.  Get this!  My hostel bragged that they had a "thermal pool".  Ummmmm more like a luke-warm hot tub with lots of chlorine and bugs in it.  Disgusting.

Budget:  $24 hostel, $3 L&P soda pop, $10 yogurt/bread/eggs/plastic baggies, $88 Maori thing (SO freaking cool!!!!)

p.s.  Peter just now went to bed.  It's 10:39 pm.  Bless his heart.

1 comment:

  1. Fantastic blog :) I know you probably spend way too much time writing as opposed to seeing the country, but these updates are amazing. You should call the Travel Channel and see if they want to syndicate this thing.

    Give Peter a high five for me and stay out of the smelly, boiling water.

    XOXO

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