Rotten Eggs and Secret Rainforests
Trip Start
Jun 07, 2008
1
3
13
Trip End
Jun 28, 2008
Rotorua,
North Island,
New Zealand
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Yesterday, after I wrote my blog, I went back to sleep and Amy woke up around 6:30. We got dressed and went down for breakfast with Mom and Riss, then we came back upstairs with the idea that we were going to change and go to the gym/pool before we left at 9a. Well, then we allotted a half an hour to digest and got sucked into a movie called The Bell Curse Haunting. Amy finally dragged herself away from it and had like 30 minutes down there, but I was engrossed and couldn't pull myself away. Then we packed and we all headed out on the road to Rotorua.
Unfortunately, the beginning of it was the same road as the one we traveled the day before, so that was kind of boring, but it soon got better. We stopped at a little café by the road along the way to use the facilities and get a snack
Mom and riss in the gondola.
. We got ham/salami sandwiches that also just happened to have egg salad at the bottom. Like they used that instead of mayo. Right about then, Dad called and said he really liked my blog and that I was doing a good job. He also asked why I didn't write more about driving on the wrong side yet. I explained that I hadn't driven at all yet, Amy did it all, but that I would interview her. Here are some tidbits about NZ country driving. It's only in the city that you have multiple lane highways. All of these other roads are 1 lane each way. Sometimes there's passing allowed, but usually not. The speed limit is 100km, like 55mph, except sometimes around bends there will be the disconcerting sign saying SLOW 75! There are lots of road kill and lots of signs that say things like Slow Down, You're Going Too Fast or You've Just Crashed, It Will Take 38 Minutes For The Nearest Ambulance To Arrive. I guess it makes sense then, that we were being tailgated and passed relatively often. These people are crazy drivers.
And crossing the street is a feat in and of itself. 2 days ago, when we were exploring the city, we were at a corner and the light changed. We stepped off, along with another woman (who had a NZ accent). Well, the walk light hadn't changed, just the streetlight (remember things are backwards), so we are starting to cross and all of these people start making right turns in front of us (like left turns at home), then when they stop, the cars that we're standing in front of in the middle of the road get the green, so we have to run to the other lane and by then, there are cars wanting to turn left (like a right turn) into us
Farm life.
. It was scary for a second but mostly funny, and the lady who was with us was confused as to why we got stuck too, so maybe it wasn't my fault... :)So, after the café, I think we missed a turn on the GPS (which is really easy to do because it says TURN LEFT when it really means TURN LEFT IN 400 FEET), but it was the best detour ever. We were in farmland and there was scrub grass and hills and sheep everywhere, then we turn down this road and you guys, it was amazing. Like we entered a rainforest, we had suddenly entered Fiji or Samoa. There were HUGE palms and ferns almost as tall as those. It was beautiful. A few minutes down and there was SNOW on the ground. In front of the palm trees, it was one of a kind. It only lasted a few more minutes after that and then we were back into farmland. It was so weird, we turned around wondering if we could see it from outside and I had the distinct feeling that if we tried to go back in, it would all be farmland.
After that, we were just continually amazed the green that is apparently only in NZ. So many shades of it, so much of it. It's all got that just rained upon look. Those pictures don't do it justice. And it smells really good (except here in Rotorua, but I'll get to that). In the country, it smells like fresh grass and cows (but not their poop), more like the nature-y, animal-y smell
These cattails are everywhere.
.As we crested the hill that leads down into Rotorua, we saw this beautiful lake. As we got into the city, we smelled it. The whole area smells like sulfur. Which translates to rotten eggs. Closer to the water (like our hotel) it gets stronger, farther away, it just smells like egg salad.
We arrived here, settled into the hotel, and tried to figure out what to do. Our hotel is called Sudima Lake Hotel. The rooms are smaller than the last hotel, but very modern and very clean. There are fewer frills, but it's still nice. Our pool is naturally heated from a hot spring so it's like bathwater. There is a hot spring and steaming rock right outside our door, but we're not allowed to touch it and the lake is quite literally right next to us. I haven't taken any pictures of that yet, but I will.
After we arrived, we set out to get gas; this was our first time at the pump here in NZ. That was interesting. Gas is sold in liters here, so it looks like you're getting this great deal because the signs say $2.06 or so, but then when you fill up, you take 61 liters or so and it costs $110. Slightly frightening the first time.
Then, we headed to a shopping center we had seen on the way in, we went to the Post Office where we got postcards and cashed traveler's checks and had a great conversation with a woman there
So quaint.
. Her: Where are you from? Us: California. Her: OH, you have such funny money, it's SO small. (She holds her fingers up to show how small.) It's so tiny, like the size of your pupil! Us: Yeeees.... Her: And it's all one color and made of paper? It looks like monopoly money! Us: Sigh, k.Funny thing is, earlier, we had noticed a display of wallets in a store and they had fake money in there and it was fake American money, which I thought was strange. But apparently our money already looks funny to everyone else, so they just use that.
We also went to The Wherehouse (a store you may recall we went in before), but this one was much nicer. Compare the Wal-Mart in Barstow to the Wal-mart in Torrance and you'll know what I mean. We tried on clothes and I bought some sweaters (only $17 NZD, which is like $12 USD). Amy got socks, which she needed because it suddenly became freezing cold. Sidebar on weather here: In Rotorua, right now at 5am, it is 40 degrees F outside. The high today is 57. When we fly to Christchurch on Friday, it will be 47 degrees and raining. It's time to put away the flip-flops (or jandals, as they're known here) and to take out the Uggs.
After that, we decided to check out the Skyline Skyrides (http://www.skylineskyrides.co.nz/rotorua/) which are in all the guidebooks and come highly recommended
It looks better from far away!
. You ride in these gondolas situated on the side of Mt. Ngongotaha to 487 metres above sea level. You have crazy views of Rotorua city, lake and all the geothermal activity. These cables are 900 metres long. It's like the one in Palm Springs, but way cooler. And newer, so less scary. Once up there, we took pictures and took a luge ride. We were initially not going to, but then we decided we should try and it was SO MUCH FUN. Rissa, Amy and I can't wait to go back on Friday. You're in a 3 wheel cart holding onto handle bars that you pull back to brake and lean forward to accelerate. It's a downhill 1.7km course. It feels like you can get going pretty fast and there's no wall on the curves for a lot of it, so it's like you could just go flying off at any moment. When you get to the bottom, you take this insanely rickety looking chairlift back to the top. That takes like 5 minutes and I, being a baby, was scared most of that time.We had planned to eat at the top in the restaurant, but they were closed by then and it was freezing, so we headed back into the downtown area and found a cute café called Ciccio's Italian Café. It was like Italian dishes with non Italian food. Bacon and pumpkin soup, bacon and nuts salad, lots of bacon. However, it was presented beautifully (wish I had taken a picture) and tasted delicious. Rissa got spaghetti and meatballs, I got fettuccine, Amy got the nuts about chicken salad and mom got a green salad
These signs are everywhere.
. We were stuffed afterwards and even took home leftovers. They had these cute cookie monster cupcakes there too. I thought of sending one to Jon, but I think it might have been a lot of trouble. :)After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and went down to the pool. It was like a warm bath. Delicious, and relaxing and not too hot. But as soon as we got out, it was freezing. So, we went back to the room and watched Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe on Discovery Channel.
Side note: We were reading the paper in Auckland yesterday and Amy was reading a story about someone was heard yelling Help, Come Here! So the police were called. When they arrived it turns out the man was looking for his cat named Help. LOL. Not only is this a silly story, but people actually called the police when someone yelled help and it made it into the paper. SIGH at NZ.
This is where we're going today! Pictures to come tomorrow! http://www.paradisev.co.nz/Paradise_Valley_Springs_Wildlife_Park/Welcome_to_Paradise!_IDL=2_IDT=561_ID=12822_.html
