They Boy and I spent last night and tonight in Rotorua, about 3 hours southeast of Auckland, and a very long 6 hour drive froom Wellington. Wellington was a huge disappointment. We expected a big beautiful city as the capital of NZ but it was pretty run-down looking. The Boy defended Wellington by saying that Canada's capital city is also a bit run down in areas. I can see how it was really modern looking back in its heyday, but there are a lot of bits of paint that are peeling, everything is just looking weathered and old. After our bus tour, we went to the cultural museum, Te Papu, which was fun but a little bit overrun by kids. There was this really cool touch screen table thing with musical pieces that went together and Lucy Lawless singing. I have no way to explain this in words -- you'll just have to go visit Te Papu!
We visited the Sunday farmers market and foodie stalls on the harbour, and then went to a weird and maybe racist lunch at a malaysian place. Realizing that we didn't allot nearly enough time in New Zealand, we just hightailed it to Rotorua. We definitely need to get back to NZ!
My parents told me about this strip of motels where every unit has its own private hot springs.WhAT!? So we looked it up and Fenton Street it was! We stopped in at the Ascot on Fenton who offered private spas in the backyard, but not of mineral waters. Apparently the gasses from the mineral waters KILLS PEOPLE IN THEIR SLEEP. Nobody told us this! Still, we were able to hot tub in the backyard. Our proprietors told us that there were some deaths nearby, but who knows.
Today we went to Waiotapu, the scene of active volcanic activity and saw some really incredible pools of boiling water and pools of waters with various minerals in them. The green/yellow pools had arsenic and the orangey waters had sulphur! VERY strong smelling, too. We also went to Waikite to bathe in the mineral waters (not to sleep near them). It was beautiful and mostly relaxing (there were some kids there that followed us around a bit, but we were able to have little chats in the gorgeous pools).
We wait straight to Zorbing next, this crazy invention by kiwis where you are strapped inside an inflatable ball that's shock corded to a larger inflatable ball. They push you down a hill and then you feel like "Ohhhhh, I'm glad I didn't eat beforehand" and then "ohhhhh I wish I had eaten a little something before!" The second zorb we did had no straps but they put some water in and you slip and slide on this twisty turny path down the hill. I liked it, but I didn't like how they zipper you in (the strap-in zorb had open holes on either side for you to get in and out) and the zipper is only one way. what if i HAD to get out? The third zorb, The Boy and I did it together straight down the hill, with water. That time was fun!
We tried Turkish for dinner on Eat Streat (no kidding!) and ate guvec. It was soooo filling! I had to bring the rest of mine hotel -- I'll eat it for breakfast tomorrow. This town, though interesting, STINKS. I'm not kidding. I woke up several times last night because of the sulphur. it's disgusting. and then today after we went Zorbing, i was feeling a bit nauseous and the smell just overwhelmed me. I had to lie down for awhile. Don't get me wrong, Zorbing is fantastic, and not dangerous at all. We just hadn't eaten in a long time and all the whirly motion was not good. I feel sick on the windy mountain roads too (windy meaning many twists and turns, not a lot of blowing air). Tonight we have time for just one more soak in the hot tub and then we're off to Auckland tomorrow for our last day in New Zealand. so sad. I wish we had more time here! I'm afraid that Australia won't be as exciting! :(
1 comments:
I think you must have had your eyes shut in Wellington.
It is a beautiful city set on the harbour and is full of innovation. Perhaps you just went on an old person's bus tour.Two weeks is not enouh time to even see half of New Zealand.
Best of luck in your future travels
Post a Comment