Lions and Lambs and Wallabies, Oh My!

Trip Start Jun 07, 2008
1
4
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Trip End Jun 28, 2008


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Friday, June 13, 2008

Thursday was our full day in Rotorua. The sound of millions of birds woke us up. That morning we went to breakfast at the hotel - Amy tried kidney - and I braved the freezing cold and stinky smell to take gorgeous pictures of the sunrise.  After breakfast, we perused the gift shop and got some souvenirs. Amy tried to skype her parents, but there was no answer. Then we all headed to a souvenir shop down the street and finished up our NZ shopping.

After that, we headed back to the hotel and got ready for our spa treatments. When we got there, they had us go soak in thermal pools in our bathing suits. Some of them were quite hot while others were like bathwater. They all smelled very strongly of sulfur and you could see the yellow rims on the rocks. After almost an hour of that, we went into a lounge where we waited to be called for our treatments. We all got the honey lavender back treatment which was an exfoliation, then honey, then lavender massage oil and a massage on the back and back of the legs Sunrise over Lake Rotorua.
Sunrise over Lake Rotorua.
 . We emerged 30 minutes later, all very happy and relaxed. Especially Amy, since it was her first massage.  We looked in the gift shop for a while and I bought some mud masks and some amazing lotion.

We went back to the hotel, changed and went to get some lunch. Amy had seen a sign saying Gourmet Burgers the night before, so we set off in search of that place. It ended up being amazing. They had chicken, fish, beef, and veggie burgers as well as an espresso bar and it was delicious. They also had really good French fries, kind of like Del Taco's.

Then, we went back to The Wherehouse (quickly becoming our favorite store) and bought heavy jackets in preparation for Christchurch and that evening's Maori festivities.

Then we headed to Paradise Valley where we made it just in time for the lion feeding at 2:30. The drive up there was incredibly long and windy and we kept thinking we had missed the turn. It also didn't help that when there were signs, they said 1000 km, which of course means nothing to us. We watched the lions for a long time, and we were able to get so close. There was only a chain link fence in between us and them Sunrise over Lake Rotorua.
Sunrise over Lake Rotorua.
 . One of them was eating right next to the fence, glanced up at Riss and roared directly at her. She about peed her pants.

Then there was a lamb that Amy and Rissa were in love with. It came when they called and would baa whenever they left. There was a jungle walk after that; a canopy walk high up in the trees and signs that told you what the native peoples used the trees for. Amy ate red berries and my mom almost had a heart attack, but she's still here with us, so no harm no foul.

There was a spring there where you could drink from it and it was supposed to have healing properties. Riss and Amy drank from it then we went around a corner and we were like, no, THIS spring. So, they drank trout water. With lamb-y hands. :)

We also saw opossums, goats, wallabies, an emu, an alpaca, and pigs. There was a duck pond too, with an especially vocal duck that we assumed was in heat. God, she was annoying and she reached through the bars and untied Rissa's shoelaces. She also tried to bite our shoes. There was another duck who clucked like a chicken. The drive back down was just as curvy, though this time Larissa drove and it was her first time, so that was exciting for her Lake Rotorua
Lake Rotorua
 .

When we got back to the hotel, we were picked up for hangi, which is a Maori feast. We were all seated in a large tent and they started to determine what countries everybody was from. Turns out were wer 15 nations, although that was counting Hawaii separate from the US. There was a huge group of 50 Hawaiians there that night who would soon prove very important. The chief we elected was one of the Hawaiians. Then we were taken outside to see how they prepared our food. There's a hole in the ground and they lay wood on top of it, then hot rocks. I don't remember what happens next exactly, but you all have the internet and can look it up (I am typing this offline). Then the food gets covered with wet blankets, then dirt is laid on top and it's steamed. It ended up being quite good. The guide then told us that while the hangi is the feast, the hungi is how they greet each other. And that's by pressing noses twice. We were all encouraged to do it with someone near us. Amy was right next to our elected chief so she now considers herself a princess.

We then went on a walk through the woods to a river and saw the warriors chanting and paddling in a canoe. Then, we made our way to an open area where there was seating for all of us and they put on a show kind of Lake Rotorua
Lake Rotorua
 . They danced and sang and used the poi poi balls (those are so cool). Then our nation had to present a song, which the huge group of Hawaiians gladly did for us. It was beautiful, I have no idea what song it was, maybe the Hawaiian state song, but it was gorgeous. The Maori chief then explained their body markings and what they meant and talked about what it means to be Maori today.

After we ate, the Hawaiians did some hula dancing as a treat. It was amazing. They had only a guitar and they all sang so well and there was one hula where it was the older women, then it was just girls and then guys and girls. It was SO nice.

There was a nature walk following that. The chief showed us the trees and the remedies they were used for. He pointed to a tree and said the bark of that tree is poisonous; we used to use it in our spear-tips. Even if you touch it, it will rot your skin. Then he flashed his light on a woman who was bringing her hand away from it and asked if she was okay. She looked pretty scared. As we were moving onto our next area, Amy looked down and starting freaking out. There was an opossum that looked frightened into stillness in this huge crowd, and somebody was kicking it and Amy started to get angry. Then the guys started laughing and she realized it was rubber Lake Rotorua
Lake Rotorua
 . Which made her even angrier, but funny amy angry where she's laughing. As were walking past that, this guy came up next to us and asked what had happened, she told him and we all laughed.

At the end of the walk, we stopped to see glowworms at their sacred spring. This spring was also cool because it was a cold spring and you could see the springheads bubbling through the bottom. It was crazy. And there were eels. The guy who had been talking to us earlier was next to Amy and he whispered, I really want to scare you right now. She thought, mission accomplished.  He continued to follow us after that, on the way back to the bus and in the gift shop. On the bus, he sat in the very front next to the driver (how weird is that?), and we sat all the way in the back next to some lame French ladies who kept giving us dirty looks.
When we got back, Amy wrote some postcards and skyped Alan, I emailed Adam and my dad and we didn't sleep until after 11.
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