Have You Ever Zorbed or Schweebed With a Sheep??

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  Napier, North Island, New Zealand
Sunday, December 21, 2008

Before writing a blog I like to read the previous weeks entry...it helps to get me in the mood (that, and a few drinks), and it reminds me of the gibberish I was spewing at the time.  I noted with a little distress (okay, it was actually Gandalfian pride) that I had referenced bodily fluids/excrements no less than 7 times in last week's blog.  Tracy suggested that, with New Zealand being such a beautiful country, maybe a little less toilet humour would be in order.  I might have even agreed, but the local Maori gods seem to be against me.  Our first stop last week was Rotorua, a town referenced in our guide book as "Fartopolis"...with a nickname like that, I have no choice but to declare, "Let the toilet humour continue!!" 

Before talking about Stinkyville, I should also warn you that we just finished watching the three Lord of the Rings movies (since they were filmed in New Zealand).  10 hours of Hobbits and Middle Earth will no doubt find their way into this week's entry (which the clever ones of you will have already noticed)

Scenery Around Rotorua

.  And, by the way (btw) #1, if you are wondering whether these movies were too complex for the girls I will offer up this vignette...at the end of the final movie, one of them said, "Oopsie, he dropped the pretty ring!"  And, btw#2, our "backpacker credibility" took a serious hit this week when we bought a cheap DVD player, which I'm quite sure is absent from most backpacker necessity lists...it's just too darn easy travelling with a car and staying in places with TVs.  In our defense, as mentioned in an earlier blog, it's cheaper for us to stay in NZ's motels (and what's more wholesome than a family movie night watching thousands of people, elves, and dwarves getting slaughtered by fantastical underworld beasts?)

Okay, back to Fartopia, I mean Rotorua.   The reason the place smells like rancid Ork meat is because it is one of New Zealand's most fascinating and active geothermal areas.  That means spouting geysers, boiling mud pools, volcanoes, and steam shooting out of the earth everywhere.   And with each of these natural phenomena comes a sulphuric, rotten egg odor.  Rotorua and the surrounding area were amazing.  The highlights included:

·    Strolling through the main city park (not even a "tourist site") and seeing steam shooting out of the numerous boiling pools of mud (with the helpful "Danger" signs in front of them)

Erupting Mud Pit, Rotorua

.  We had to laugh that this park also had a "Scented Garden";

·    Being able to pass gas freely in public for 4 days straight, without the need to blame someone else...don't be shocked, it's not like I was the only one doing it.  As a side note, the kids now refer to passing gas as "Rotorua-ing", and having a bowel movement as a "geyser";

·    Going to the mind-boggling Orakei Korako geothermal park.  I can only describe some of the natural geothermal sights at this park as being unworldly.  Lots of steam, erupting geysers (real ones, not the aforementioned toilet ones), boiling pools of water and mud, silica stumps, and a cave with the clearest water I have ever (not) seen;

·    Being able to see past the beauty and wonder of Orakei Korako geothermal park, and spotting "butt-crack lake...he must have eaten Mexican food, see the steam coming out?"...at least the kids thought it was funny;

·    Finding three areas of our motel room floor that were about 10 degrees hotter than any other section of the floor;

While we found this part of New Zealand to be fascinating, it was also a little unsettling

Boiling Landscape, Orakei Korako

.  Learning about the (not so nice) volcanic history of the area, and knowing that there was so much boiling "stuff" literally a few feet below us, can cause one's imagination to become overactive.  In hindsight, it probably didn't help that we also toured the nearby Buried Village of Te Wairoa, New Zealand's own Pompeii.

Given our state of nervousness, we did what any rational family would do...we went luging down the nearby mountain.  [How's that for a nice segue into New Zealand's obsession with extreme activities?]  For those of you who aren't experts on obscure Olympic sports, luging is basically tobogganing down an icy track.  A number of places, including New Zealand, have transformed it into a summer sport by laying concrete paths down a mountain, and adding wheels to the toboggan...lots of fun, and relatively safe.

While bungee jumping was invented here, this seems to be "old hat" to the Kiwis as they continue to push the envelope with activities such as:

·    Zorbing:  You get placed inside a giant inflatable ball, and get rolled/bounced down a hill...you actually have to pay more if you want to be strapped in.  We had planned to do this, but we made the mistake of extrapolating the cost of the 6 second trip into an hourly rate [for the record, CAD$25,200 per hour];

·    Swooping:  You get cocooned into a harness that looks like a sleeping bag, get attached to a rope and then winched up 40 metres to a platform

Orakei Korako Geothermal Park

.  Before you can change your mind, you're released and you "swoop" down to the ground at 130 kph, all the while yelling in terror, "I'm going to geyser myself!";

·    Schweebing: some sort of human powered monorail racetrack with fast speeds and sharp curves;

·    Body flying: you are placed above a DC3 aircraft engine (that's facing the ground) and the 180km/hr "exhaust" wind column causes you to float above it;

·    Blokarting: sand yachting (also referred to as the "fastest deck chairs in the south");

·    River sledging: taking a boogie board down some rapids, including a drop over a waterfall;

·    Canyon swinging: "the world's highest rope swing" at 109 metres;

·    Black water rafting: white water rafting through dark caves...thanks for the helmets

Tandem Zorbing

!

Of course the above activities are in addition to the extreme activities that I have actually heard of, such as skydiving, jet boating (through waterfalls), and all kinds of freefall/bungee jump derivatives.  These activities abound in New Zealand, but are not for the budget-conscious or the faint of heart (such as ourselves...at least the luge sleds had brakes!).  And in a uniquely New Zealandian fashion, the same place that offered up zorbing and shweebing, also had a daily farm tour and sheep show...you can't help but smile!

Given the amazing natural assets that New Zealand is blessed with, it's surprising that these extreme activities ever evolved.  We continue to have a fantastic time just enjoying New Zealand's great outdoors, which pleasantly enough, do not appear to have any mosquitoes (at least so far).  It's an outdoor lover's paradise, with well marked hikes in every town.  The treks can range anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 or 5 days in length, and hiking (or in "Kiwi speak", tramping) is a very popular pastime.  We've been on a number of shorter hikes, and in our travels we have come across the following:

·    Aratiatia Rapids:  These are neat because they are just downriver from a dam that opens its floodgates three times a day

The Queen of Luge

.  We timed it so we could see the trickle of water through the rocks change into raging rapids when the dam was opened.  It was amazing to see how high the water level increased (15 metres) in the canyon...Pippin would have been washed away for sure.  And in keeping with New Zealand's tradition of hospitality, they blow warning horns just before releasing the water;

·    Huka Falls:  Only a 10 metre drop but a huge volume of water, and a nice turquoise blue colour;

·    3D Maze:  Okay, we didn't hike to this one, but this 1.7 km long wooden maze (on 2 levels), was good family fun.  (Didn't hurt that it was also a boost to my ego - my Samwise'ian effort rewarded me with being the first one to find my way out of the maze in the final race);

·    Napier, Hawkes Bay:  More great scenery, and 30+ wineries in the immediate area...in fact we have just returned from a few Sunday afternoon wine tastings...does life get any better?  Well, I guess it was a little hot today.  [Editor's Note:  It's just cruel to point that out.]

And what blog would be complete without some educational points:

·    New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote;

·    New Zealand has a huge opossum problem...70 million possums eating 20,000 tons of vegetation (and who knows how many Kiwi eggs) a day, all without a natural predator

Extreme Sport? Hawkes Bay

.  And, New Zealand may be the only country in the world that has its own "Opossum World" museum/store;

·    Did you know you can make clothes (sweaters/shawls) out of a fabric that contains 30% possum fur;

·     New Zealand seems to have an inordinate number of "Fish and Chip Chinese Takeaway" stores...don't know why;

·    The Children's Pageant was performed at the church we went to this morning...I now know that it is possible to successfully incorporate a bull fight, a limbo contest and a Maori war canoe into a children's Christmas play.  I would have to question, however, having the Wise Men bungee jump onto the stage.*

·    New Zealand is the only country in the world that can actually get people to pay for a "Hobbiton Tour".  This allows the customers to see a small door in the side of a mound of dirt (i.e. Bilbo's house from the Lord of the Rings)...I'd rather zorb;

·    From what we've seen, most New Zealand toilets have a "half flush" option (for non-geyser movements)...we have seen this elsewhere in the world, and it seems to make a whole bunch of sense;

·    I was able to confirm that the North Island does have one stretch of highway that is actually flat and straight

Huka Falls

.  It is roughly 400 metres long about 10 kilometres outside of Taupo on the way to Hawkes Bay.  In my never-ending quest to get a speeding ticket in New Zealand, I was finally able to get up to "full" speed...And to the guy that still managed to pass me, thanks for belittling me in front of my woman!!;

·    New Zealanders seem to be much more comfortable than North Americans about going barefoot in public places.  We have seen many such people on the streets and in grocery stores.  Tracy's theory is that they are really Hobbits (but they don't seem to have hairy feet);

And now it's time to head off and enjoy a Christmas break with Tracy's cousin and family (They were kind enough to move here a few years ago, no doubt in anticipation of our visit).  They are about to relocate back to Canada, and they have mentioned that they have quite a quantity of wine and beer left over from a going away party.  Let the Fellowship of the Drink unite!

Have a great Christmas and we'll see you in the New Year!!

*Okay, no bungee jumping Wise Men...I made that up.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Strange Earth Flows, Orakei Korako	New Zealand Countryside	Around Rotorua	Boiling Mud Pool, Orakei Korako
Clear Cave Pool, Orakei Korako	Craters of the Moon, Rotorua	More Orakei Korako	Rotorua Washroom Sign
Butt Crack Thermal Lake?	Grave Yard in Rotorua	Enjoying New Zealand

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