Rotorless in Rotorua

So this is one of my few blog entries written with my head on my shoulders, or rather, with it not floating above me in a haze of nasal decongestant. I am hoping that makes a difference -- but perhaps not.

Well, let me do a quick update. Internet here again has been quite hard to come by, so I always end up behind. When last I left off, I was departing Paihia the next day with three Aussies: Mary-Anne, Rosie and Nicki. All but Nicki are 26-years old (Nicki is 24). And all three are physical therapists. I did hear that Australia is known for amazing physical therapy. I knew it would be an especially good travel group because they too found the loudness of the Danes, and the general noise at the Saltwater hostel to be unbearable.

We had a chill drive out of town with a brief stopover in the Waipoua forest to visit the giant/ancient Kauri trees. Some of them are believed to be as old as 4,000 years old. Amazing to imagine what was going on while they continued to live, thousands of years ago.

After a lengthy drive we finally made it to Rotorua, which is south of Auckland by about 2.5 hours. The city smells like Sulfur, or a rotten egg, because of the natural hot water springs that bubble out of it. It is also the center of Maori culture. Whereas 17% of New Zealand is Maori, that percentage is 35% in Rotorua. I feel constantly spoiled that the native language here is English. I keep expecting people to speak a different language, then translate. But nope, tours, etc...all automatically done in English. It's lovely. Anyway, I was excited to explore this region before continuing south toward Tongariro National Park.

Our first day in was also the most expensive day here. We headed to Whakawerawera Village to see a native Maori village and their hot pools, the hangi cooking style (or the "Maori microwave") as the locals call it, and the Pohutu geyser, which can shoot up to 30 meters in the air every hour or so. The village, in which the Maori tribe continues to live, is pretty cool. It's interesting to see traditional and modern melding together, and the people live together with a preschool, school, church and gathering hall, among other buildings scattered throughout their hillside; plus, of course many different temperature hot pools for bathing and cooking. It's so different from life back in LA. Everyone knows each other, and everyone is auntie or uncle to someone else. Anyway, the hangi essentially relies on the heat from rocks that they make white hot, place water on top of it, then a blanket and soil so that steam seeps up into a wooden crate holding food. Food is cooked in the wooden crate for hours until it is steamed to perfection. There's a bit of a smoked flavor that comes out in the kumara, the sweet potato, and meats. When the Maori arrived here they brought rats (a delicacy) and dogs (skinned for their coats).

After the village walk about, we headed to the Polynesian Spa, which is the best spa in the country. I decided to splurge on a 30-minute mini spa sampler, which included an awesome soft robe, and access to hot pools (36, 38, 40 and 42 degrees Celsius). The 30-minute massage/treatment was great after days of travel and a day of sitting in the car. The fastest 30 minutes I've ever experienced, I said afterward. The pools were nice and relaxing, though I was careful to not spend too much time in the waters and I tried to remember to drink water. Even so, I was a bit dehydrated afterward.

That evening we headed to the Mitai cultural evening, which was pricey, but ended up being one of the nicest things I've done in New Zealand thus far. It was a festive evening that began with a pickup at 5:45 p.m. We headed in bus #13 to the tribal area dressed in our warmest clothes. It's been about 53 degrees Fahrenheit during the day here, and much much colder at night. For me, at least, that's chilly, and I'm very glad I brought my heaviest coat (not heavy enough). I do wish I'd brought my raincoat/shell, especially since New Zealand has incredibly changeable weather. Anyway, when we arrived we went to a large outdoor tent area that was set up as if for a beautiful banquet. Everyone was assigned to a different table, we had drinks (I had ginger beer -- nonalcoholic and yum! -- after spa day), some appetizers, and got to know our table mates. A couple Canadians, a Londoner, and a couple from New Caledonia who didn't speak any English. Later on in the evening we chatted quite a bit and I translated a few things into French for them.

Our local speaker was hilarious, and someone compared his comedic mannerisms to Bill Cosby. We were the "tribe of many nations" as he went around the room identifying people from different countries and speaking a bit of their language in welcome. By the end of the greeting we were "the tribe of 19 nations." (Few Americans, however.) Then it was off to the forest to see a traditional waka or canoe (in this case) being used by the Maori in traditional dress, while people sang and walked in the forest. We met another group of tourists as well, who had (like us) selected a chief. The guy we ended up choosing collectively was a Finnish man named Marko, who had seemed quite sure of himself during the greeting ceremony. When we met the "other tribe" their leader was...a man named Mark, from Finland as well. It was hilarious and ironic. I presume there was something about each of their bearings in the intro that got them selected by our respective groups. From there we went to the show area (we were given fleece blankets and sat under heating lamps (still cold!))...We saw demonstrations of the haka, war dance, where bulging eyes and tongues out and fierce moves were done to frighten and intimidate the enemy and avoid actual battle. I have to say it was pretty scary. We learned a bit about Maori heritage, culture, and battle instruments. A lot of the games were for hand-eye coordination and to help improve their warriors chances in the field.

By 8 p.m. everyone was famished. We headed back to the banquet area for food. Oh man, what food. The best meal I've had in New Zealand thus far. I ate a lot. Salads galore, chicken, New Zealand lamb, kumara and regular potatoes, and garlic bread. I got extra helpings. Then on to dessert: a chocolate log, trifle (oh man, never had it before, delicious!), and fruit salad, plus tea! After that meal, my stomach ached all night, and it was hard to sleep...but so worth it. The Aussies took a photo of their food babies -- hilarious. After the meal we went on another walk past the sacred cold water spring (9 degrees Celsius) and saw blue glowworms in the soil of the forest. The brighter they are, the hungrier the worms. Very cool

The next day I headed to walk around the Blue Lake and then went over to the Redwood Forest. Yup, you heard that right. California Redwoods were introduced into this region as an experiment, along with California pines and many other trees (Douglas Fir being one other example off the top of my head). They found the California pine grew twice as fast in New Zealand as it does usually in California. They are beautiful here, long, thin and green, throughout much of the country. The Redwoods here also grew beautifully, and the forest is proof of that. I did one of the hikes in the area, which is also known for amazing mountain biking, with trails of varying levels for all. (I also saw a California black plum in the market here!) On the way back into town I caught a ride with a local, who dropped me off at my hostel, the Funky Green Voyager -- very homey. Then it was a quick shower before heading to a local pub to watch the Melbourne Cup with my Aussie friends. It was my first Melbourne Cup, and we made the horse race right before it got going, and it was nearly done by the time I got my ginger beer. The horse, "Americain" (born in the USA and trained in France) won. And I swore that I woulda bet on that horse (represent!) if I'd arrived at the pub earlier. Damn.

From there we headed to dinner with Mary-Anne's friend Marcus, a Kiwi she went to school with in Dunedin. We went to "Burger Fuel" -- supposedly the best burger in town, got our orders and headed to "The Wall" climbing gym to check it out. Marcus is also a big climber. I got to do a couple climbs, 5'10a (woohoo), and then had to give it a rest. I could feel my tendons aching. After a bit of time there, we headed to a bar for open mic night. The artists were very good, and I had another ginger beer (go figure -- I'm trying to try all the different types). Then it was back to the hostel to relax. It was friggin' cold, or I might have joined the others for a hot pools visit. I decided to get my laundry dried and relax with a book. Lame, but nice all the same.

This morning we went out for breakfast. I had a delicious lamb and kumara pie (very filling!), and a cappuccino. It was my first breakfast out while traveling, and very nice. Then I headed to The Warehouse, which is like K-mart in the States, to pick up a few items for the next week or so. I'll be heading to Tongariro National Park, to do the crossing and also (hopefully) a summit there. It's apparently where Lord of the Rings was shot, and supposed to be spectacular. The weather forecast, however, says it's snowing over there, and it's very cold. So I stopped to pick up some thermals, gloves, rain gear, and a bunch of other stuff I had at home, but didn't think I'd necessarily need on my travels. Oh well. A really nice lady at the store essentially took me under her wing and helped me get all equipped for my trip. I also got a big bag with wheels on it, and transferred my stuff and backpack into it. My back was not happy with the pack, and things are MUCH better now. I know way too many backpackers that have followed suit. I can always take the backpack out and just use it for what I need on a specific trip. But, otherwise, it's way too heavy, unnecessary and unhealthy to carry around.

Otherwise, today has been a very chill day. Laundry is done, some Internet time, the hostel manager here is a nice Canadian named Matt, who gave me some of his couscous and veggie stir-fry for lunch. Yay for vegetables. They are quite expensive here, so I unfortunately do not eat them much while traveling. I did pick up some extra fruit though. The apples here, Gala apples, are delicious -- it is fruit picking season after all. Well, tomorrow I'm off to Lake Taupo for a night. I'm looking to do some kayaking on the lake, weather permitting, and then off to the Waitomo Caves, and the Tongariro National Park. If snow remains in the forecast I may put off my hike for a couple days. We'll see.

Ooh, just heard Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in NZ tomorrow for a visit. Nice. By the way, Wellington was also determined the fourth best city to visit in the world b/c of it's culture, among other things. I'm planning for up to a week there before hitting the South Island.

Anyway, now it's time to hit the town for a bit... Ciao.