I am currently in the North Island of New Zealand. I met up with Paul and Judy at the Sydney Airport and we arrived in Auckland together.
I am thankful that folks figured out we were on the same flight and headed to same place, as Rotarua is 3 hours south of Auckland. Paul and Judy rented a car, so we traveled here together. Julie and Rosemary were already here, the arrived the day before and took a couple of buses to get here.
I'm staying at the same hotel as Paul and Judy. When we checked in my on-line registration hadn't worked so they didn't have me reserved; no worries, they had plenty of room and the receptionist said that the system still had some flaws. To apologize they gave me an "upgraded" room, I was hoping for a suite, but instead I got a terrace room that looks out in the direction of the lake and is right near the pool. All good. I get to the room and there is a bit of irony to it. Since my travels to Australia, I've been sharing rooms with 4-6 people. Now I have a room to myself and well it has a king bed and two twin beds, and probably the largest room I've been in yet, and it's just me...
So today Julie and Rosemary were headed back to the airport to fly home, Paul and Judy drove them back, so I opted to go exploring. I went the Wachereraru, which is a Maori Thermal Village. I took a guided tour, it was really fascinating how they used the hot springs, really hot springs 110 was the coolest one, they used it to cook, bath and for medicinal purposes. Tonight I'm headed to Mitari which is another Maori Village to have dinner (thanks Julie and Rosemary for the recommendation).
Paul and Judy have graciously offered to drive me back to the airport tomorrow morning, Paul is going to be an expert driver after all those miles!
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Hey Jojo and everyone!
Rotarua was a fantastic place--loved those thermal springs. Jojo, hope you enjoyed the Maori dinner. Julie and I had a great time and we even met a Team USA dragon boater from San Diego, senior men's team! The food was cooked underground. We weren't sure what to expect, but the performance was traditional Maori songs, dance and costumes and they demonstrated some of the traditioal weapons and warrior training (yikes, I hope Joann didn't see that part!) They explained some aspects of the facial tatoos--like the women's chin area designs are based on an owl. We ended with a walk through the woods after dinner and a guide explained some of the edible an non-edible plant life. It all ended with everyone shutting off their flashlights and we saw the glow worms, which was very cool. Love to you all. Enjoy the rest of your adventures. I'm with you in spirit.
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