Hi there, and welcome to your fornightly belly update.

'The Burden of the Burgeoning Belly', brought to you by the letter 'B'.

While munching on a salad last week, Michele’s gums began to bleed. For a brief moment I thought Michele’s teeth – due to calcium deficiencies caused by the pregnancy – had fallen out and I was about to cheer and do the Kumbayah.

As it turned out, it’s just a common side effect. I couldn’t do much myself, so apart from stopping to check on her I didn’t think too much about it.

Baby’s also beginning to be more aware of its surroundings. It kicks and punches back when prodded, it rolls around when Michele’s eating and it practically does star jumps when she eats ice cream. Baby must like ice cream.

I reckon Baby’s having lots of fun in there. It’s like living in a perpetual state of Zorb. Michele and I went to Rotorua, New Zealand for our honeymoon and had a memorable time rolling down the hill in a wet, bouncing ball for twenty seconds. It cost us $40/person. Try doing that for nine months. Damn, that’s one expensive ride!

Looking rapt after attempting the Zorb. Don't think Baby's going to look too pleased when it's forced out of its own Zorb!

Michele’s walk has also officially become a waddle. I like teasing the way she walks. Instead of aping her movements, I exaggerate the way I swing my hands when I walk. She doesn’t know it but I reckon she looks really cute with the waddle.

We are also a little over the ‘halfway’ point of our exciting journey. I can’t believe in another 20 (or so) weeks’ time, Baby will be in my arms, demanding ice cream, creature comforts and telling Toby it’s now the Number One Priority.

But let’s take it a week at a time. Long way to go Baby! Daddy can’t wait to see you but you would have to grow big and strong inside Mummy first!

http://hubpages.com/hub/Travel-to-Rotorua-New-Zealand

A trip to the land of the long white cloud would not be complete without visiting the enchanting place called Rotorua. Adventurous people will enjoy the geothermal forces, biking trails, walking tracks and Maori art and culture available all in one place. There are 16 lakes, tall redwood trees and miles of endless activities for families and individuals alike.

Nach langer Prozedur, und nicht aufgeben, habe ich es geschafft gestern meinen nächsten Trip vom „Nakedpassport“ vom „Nakedbus“ zu buchen.. letztendlich stellte sich heraus, dass sie die Internetseite neu geupdated haben und ich deshalb keinen Zugriff darauf hatte, erfuhr ich dann per Telefon, vom I-Site aus. Es ließ sich dann aber doch alles klären.
Man hat hier doch mit einigen organisatorischen Dingen und Unstimmigkeiten zu kämpfen. Die Busse fahren leider auch nicht so regelmäßig oder zu den Zeiten zu denen ich es gern hätte, damit mir nicht zu viel Zeit verloren geht.
Deshalb habe ich beschlossen erstmal gen Rotorua zu reisen.
Ich hoffe ja, dass ich alles schaffe, denn ich habe langsam den Eindruck, dass es so viel zu sehen gibt, dass ich langsam Zeitdruck bekomme, wenn ich auch noch die größere Südinsel sehen möchte und dennoch rechtzeitig wieder in Auckland für den Rückflug da sein möchte. Anfang Februar geht’s schon zurück.
Aber ich habe heute Abend festgestellt, dass ich wohl nochmal nach Hamilton zurückkehren möchte, weil es so zentral liegt und weil ich Reglan von hier aus erreiche mit einem Tagestrip. Der Hostelbesitzer schwärmte davon. Er erzhählte mir eine lange Geschichte von den Gehstöcken und dem Schmuck, den er selbst dort in Reglan anfertigte als er dort wohnte.. es gibt dort anscheinend viele Hobbykünstler und es ist direkt an der Westküste an der Tasman Sea.

Nun aber zu Rotorua:
Ich bin hier 4 Tage gewesen. Es riecht nach faulen Eiern, weil es sehr geothermisch aktiv ist. Ich bin in einer aktiven Vulkangegend.
Überall in diesem Ort brodelt, kocht, dampft, blubert es aus der Erde heraus. Heißes Wasser Sprüht etc. aus kleinen bis mittelgroßen Erdlöchern im Park in Rotorua. Es ist wirklich interessant hier.

Der Ort selbst ist recht schön, die Häuser sind aus Holz und klein wie überall in Neuseeland. Mit dem Hostel habe ich es auch gut getroffen. Meine Zimmermitbewohner schnarchen nicht und die Leute sind nett. Es ist erstaunlich wie viele Leute man wieder in so kurzer Zeit kennenlernt. Mehrere Deutsche, einen Schotten, einen Chinesen, 2 Französinnen, uvm.
Abends ist kaum etwas los hier. Selbst am Wochenende nicht. Am Samstag angekommen, habe ich mich gleich mit ein paar Deutschen angefreundet und wir sind abends zusammen weggegangen. Montag war ich dann in „Te Puia“, einem Maoridorf mit Geysier und weiteren geothermischen Aktivitäten. Ich hatte es ausgewählt um die Maorikultur besser kennen zu lernen und um zu sehen wie und woraus die Maoribekleidung hergestellt wird/ wurde. Es sind verschiedene Gräserarten, vor allem aus Flax (= eine Flachsart?), die aus großen länglichen Blättern bestehen und die dann auf eine bestimmte Art aufgerollt werden, sodass sie aussehen wie getrocknetes Stroh. Dieses „Stroh“ wird dann nebeneinander verbunden, sodass es einen „Rock“ ergibt.
Außerdem wurden verschiedene Webarten von Gräsern zu Taschen usw. sowie die Bedeutung der verscheidenen Muster erklärt.
Dann habe ich mit einem, den ich im Hostel kennen gelelernt habe, mir eine Maori-Performance angesehen, die den Haka und ein paar Maorilieder enthielt.
Auf dem Weg zum Geysier kam ich an einem Ort vorbei, an dem ich dann einen Kiwi gesehen habe (der aber leider nicht in seiner freien Wildbahn zu sehen ist).

Heute, am 17.09., war ich mit einer weiteren Bekanntschaft in „Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland“, was „Heilige Wasser“ bedeutet. Dort konnte ich sehr schöne bunte Seen bzw. Teiche, verschiedene kochende Schlammlöcher, einen Wasserfall und einen sehr schönen Geysier sehen, der etwa 20 m hoch war.
Es gibt unmengen Dinge hier in Rotorua zu tun, aber es ist auch teuer.

Morgen reise ich nach Taupo weiter, wo ich aber nur kurz bleiben möchte. Ich habe beschlossen erst gen Süden zu ziehen und nicht nach Norden, denn dafür bin ich jetzt schon zu südlich. Ich werde, wenn es klappt, mit einem Brasilianer, den ich heute in Wai-o-Tapu kennen gelernt habe, nahe Turangi das „Tongariro Alpine Crossing“ machen.

Almost a week in and thought you were about ready for my first update. So I got here on Sunday at around 3pm (2am your time). Thought I was doing pretty good as I’d managed to sleep loads during my 27 hours travelling but realised things weren’t so great when I the world started rocking at about 5pm – a shower was about all I could manage before I collapsed into bed.

Next day (Monday) was all about recovery and orientation. On Tuesday I started my journey, the bus left at 7.30 and I nearly died carrying my luggage the 20 minute walk to the bus stop, thankfully most of the time I have a maximum of 5 minutes carrying time or I don’t know how I’d survive – those of you that have attempted lifting my bag will no doubt understand.

First main stop was Rotorua which is in a volcanic region; the main effect of this is the Sulphur dioxide makes the whole place stink but they also have loads of geothermic mud pools which are amazing (if you can stand the smell) they’re literally pools of boiling mud (around 200C) and they’re all over the town, according to one of the ladies I was speaking the air is a nightmare as it turns any silver you have black and things like fridges have very short shelf lives as the gases interfere with the copper. On the plus side though they use these pools to heat fresh water which becomes hot pools in the spas and people’s homes – we even had one in the hostel I was staying in = luxury!!

A massive thing about the North island and Rotorua in particular is the embracing of Maori culture and they love to share the stories of the Maori tribes, their traditions and customs with visitors too, at everything I did there was something such as a prayer at the start. I went to a cultural evening on the Tuesday evening and they were all dressed up doing battle chants and singing and dancing – it was great. Then we had a meal which was cooked on hot rocks outside – lamb and chicken with cake for dessert, it was delicious.

Wednesday was pretty cold and at 9am I had no idea what I was doing signing a disclaimer to go grade five White Water rafting but I needn’t have feared as I absolutely loved every minute of it. The climax was going over the 7m waterfall and I thought I was going to throw up as I was paddling towards it, as though towards my death but emerging unscathed at the bottom was brilliant.

Yesterday was black water rafting (or tubing really) at Waitomo which was good but a bit cold for my liking (I lost feeling in my toes within about 20 seconds and never got it back). Glow worms were amazing though, ugly up close because they’re little brown worms but when you’re looking at a distance there’s just all these tiny little lights and it’s so pretty. Apparently they eat flies that get brought in by the air or water then fly towards the lights, they also eat eachother so they’re not really fussy.

That afternoon we arrived in Taupo and it was the big one – sky diving!!! We got there at around three and I was kitted up pretty quickly but I was one of the last groups which was a shame as it meant hanging around for ages – I was okay though and bantering with the guys in the office. When my instructor came over though the others started ribbing him – clearly he’d made some sort of a mistake in the last flight and I’m thinking ‘Great, I get the clown!!’ Actually that made me start bricking it as my cameraman in particular just didn’t know when to shut up – no surprises he was a Liverpudlian. Actually, my guy was awesome and completely reassuring, giving me a big squeeze and holding my hands which was exactly what I needed. So I was at the front of the plane for the 15,000 drop and there were two people in front of me heading out at 12,000. I was doing okay during the 25 minute ascent to 12,000 metres but then I was pulled back and strapped in as they let the other two out of the plane. Oh my goodness it was the worst thing seeing those two people literally drop out of the plane towards the earth, by the time we had reached 15,000 feet and it was my turn I had reached a higher plain (no pun intended) and my brain just refused to accept what I was about to do. That move to the edge of the plane and the fall out is definitely the worst bit then immediately it just all became phenominal – the biggest high. I was free falling for a minute but it was so surreal and I just couldn’t take it all in, such an amazing feeling I just can’t describe. Then the parachute goes up at 5000 feet and you realise where you are and your looking at the most beautiful scenery over the lake and it was so chilled out just having a chat with my instructor who was ex military and had done over 4000 jumps (I wish I’d asked that question at the start – it might have saved some pain). Then down to the ground and I loved the fact I landed on my feet. Absolute euphoria for the next few hours, I really can’t describe the feeling to you, the most amazing thing I’ve ever done!
I have nothing to report today, I’m just in Taupo and walking around with a couple of the girls, there’s stunning scenery. Tomorrow I’m going to do the Tongariro Crossing which is across one of the volcanoes (next to Mount Doom used in Lord of the Rings) and a 7 hour trek (I have to leave the hostel at 6am). The day after that I hit Wellington and then to South Island where there are lots more adventures still to be had.

Please excuse the lack of photos, I’ll try to get mine organised for next time.  In the meantime I’ve uploaded my skydiving and white water rafting pictures to Facebook so enjoy!!

Por Roberto Falcão

Rotorua é a capital da atividade geotérmica da Nova Zelandia, com vários parques com águas termais, lamas borbulhantes e geysers espalhados pela região. Um dos mais interessantes é o de Wakarewarewa, que possui uma vila maori, instalada há muitas gerações. Eles utilizam-se das águas que chegam a temperaturas de ate 110 graus para cozinhar e banhar-se (é claro que não na de 110 graus!)

Há tambem outros dois parques termais, um vizinho a Wakarewarewa e o outro a 30 km ao sul de Rotorua. Os maoris não eram bobos, eles se instalaram próximos às aguas quentes! Quase todos os hotéis da região possuem piscinas de águas termais e spas.

Continuando no circuito vulcânico, segui para Turangi, a base para se explorar o parque dos vulcões de Tongariro! Este parque dos vulcões vale a pena para quem tem espírito aventureiro e gosta de caminhadas na natureza.

We can’t believe it is already day 5! It is going way too fast. Another day in Rotorua and today was extreme activity day. We started on the Schweeb which is monorail that is powered by peddle power. We had race against the clock and we both did very well against our own age groups.

Next was the freefall extreme which basically is sky diving in reverse. You place your body on top of a very big fan and you fly! we have got great photos which we will upload soon. I look like I have been inflated as my face has loads of ripples in it.

The final extreme activity for the day was zorbing. We chose to do the Aqua Zorb which is meant to be the only one in the world. Zorb is a big inflateable ball that you jump inside together, along with a little water and get pushed down a very hill. We felt that we were inside a washing machine on full spin! Definately one to do if ever in Rotorua again.

We then had to travel to Waitomo Caves ready for the Glow Cave adventure only 2 hour drive with some beautiful scenary.

I russelled up a lovely prawn and mussel pasta in a sundried tomato sauce. Em really enjoyed! There photos.

Well that is the end of day five and day six is looking like it will shape up to be a cracker! We will be taking photos (hopefully, depending whether we will be allowed) as we have a waterproof camera so there may be a few underwater shots.

Andrew and emily
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We only planned on being in Lake Taupo for a day and its rainy and chilly, so we will probably pass through and go to Napier a little early today. Its a two hour drive from Taupo. Looks like it may be rainy and chilly there too. We will still be sure to have fun! Here are some pictures of our drive from Rotorua to Lake Taupo, which is about an hour drive. We stopped at Craters of the Moon, which is a bunch of craters with steam coming from them. We also saw mud pools and Huka Falls. It was a beautiful day!

7th October 2009 -

The bus ride to Waitomo was amazing I slept for a lot of it, but when I was awake the views were of hill upon hills, with sooo many sheep, lambs, cows and calf’s. When I arrived in Waitomo the town was tiny and the driver dropped me off outside my hostel for the next two nights (Kiwi Paka). After checking in I walked to the I-Site (tourist info centre) to get a good map of the area and some advice on which caves to go to as there were more than 3 on offer. Went to 1 of the 3 places offering food in the town and had a burger and chips (trying to be safe) what a terrible idea that was the food came the burger was from frozen and the chips were like a soggy lump. After lunch I decided to see what the first part of the Waitomo walkway was like just up to the look out point, the walk up was steep but the views were worth it.

I then went back to the hostel to have a nap as I had decided to complete the 12km Waitomo walkway that evening in time to arrive and the final point (glow-worm caves) at dusk, which is the best time to see them. So after my nap I set off with an 1 1/2 till sunset which would give me enough time to complete the walk, I had my torch, water, snacks, warm jumper and water proof coat with me for the walk back. As I got over the first set of hills I was high up above the road walking with all the cows, when a runner down on the road shouted up “It’s really muddy!”. I didn’t think anything of it as I knew it had been raining previously, I had my water proof walking boots on for any muddy parts and as no one at the info centre had warned me not too I thought the path must be ok.

Little did I know… an hour into the walk things were getting more than a little muddy and I was starting to wonder how on earth was I going to get back, having to walk though all the mud in the dark the torch would be no use at all. A lot of the time I was having to walk up the hillside to avoid large muddy puddles and find the next post with the triangle marker on it. (just one of the many large puddles of mud I had to climb round)

Just as I was getting the hang of all the de touring round the actual track that was under water, the track started to follow along side the small river. The path became easier to follow but it was almost impossible to walk round any puddles, then I cam to a huge foot deep puddle in the middle of the path with no access around the edges. I thought that if I just stepped on the side I could get through the shallower area, but as I took my first step i slipped down onto my knees with nothing to hold onto and ended up with both hands in the mud too (shame no one was there to take a picture it would have been a classic). I finally got to the end of the trail and had to walk trough a deserted car park to get to the caves where the glow worms could be seen. as I was early (it was not yet dark) I decided to do the circular walk up around to the natural cave tunnel that was once an ancient Mauri burial site.

The sound of the water rapids below was amazing but as the light  was disappearing it was impossible to get a picture of it but I did manage to  get a picture of the tunnel I had to walk  through… I had to talk myself into  it saying to myself  ”come on Emma you can do it, its only a tunnel,  it will  be ok at the other side”

Then as I follow the path up and down the other side of the hill-side, to my  horror another tunnel!! well I can’t go back and as I’ve done one I must be  able to do this one too, right?? Well here goes nothing…

When I had finished the circuit and arrived back on the bridge to wait for  darkness to fall, so that the glow worms could be seen and as I was standing there waiting I saw something move out of the corner of my eye and I jumped. Luckily it was just another group coming to see the Glow worms too, they asked if I was ok and I just explained that I hadn’t seen anyone for a while and had been scared at the tunnels. When they found out I had walked there they offered me a lift back to the hostel which was really nice of them as I wasn’t looking forward to walking back along the road.

I was starving when I got back as I had forgotten to eat before I left and it was now 9pm, so I walked round to the place where I had lunch earlier to get a beer and see if they we still serving the stuff they considered to be food… unfortunately they had closed the kitchen so I got a beer and some crisps and sat down to read my book, while all the locals in the bar just stared at me. At the hostel I found out they had closed the kitchen too, so my last resort was to have a packet of instant noodles I went to the kitchens to find out that you had to rent bowls etc. from the restaurant. I ran back to the reception/restaurant to find that they had closed the doors, I knocked hoping someone would hear me and just as I was about to give up they did. So I had my noodles and headed to bed.

8th October 2009 -

Got up early as my bus was coming at 9am to take me Black water rafting, which is when I was informed by the driver that the Waitomo walkway run had been canceled yesterday as there was too much mud on the path. Gosh and I was crazy enough to think about doing it in darkness, well I’m even more grateful for my lift home last night.We were taken to get kitted out and then walked down to a small looking hole in the ground with a ladder sticking out of it, its was explained that this was the entrance to the caves… a sign of things to come the hole was minute. Bit of a squeeze in but managed it then 5 minutes into the caves feeling slightly scared I asked the guide

“What happens if someone decides they don’t want to go on as there too scared?”

he replied “They usually make that decision when they see the hole in the ground”

Oh crap! there’s no escape I’ll have to finish it…

So 2 hours, lots of climbing, crawling, squeezing, swimming, floating, glow worms and darkness later we’re finally at the end, we come out into sunshine. I’m absolutely exhausted and can hardly life my boots off the ground as they are full of water and my legs are like jelly, when the guide pipes up “right guys I know your tired but the hot showers are waiting for you at the top of the hill” WHAT!! Lets just say I needed help to get the gear off especially the wet suit. When I finally got back to the hostel I was shattered so I grabbed a pizza and slept for the rest of the day.

9th October 2009 -

The coach picked me up to take me to my next stop Rotorua (Sulphur city) the first stop was for lunch at a place called the Big Apple, as it was supposed to be like an American diner. The first plate of food I picked up had a nice long black hair in it so I exchanged it for something out of a sealed packed to be safe. One of the girls I had met caving was also in Rotorua that evening so I had a quick shower and got ready for Mauri traditional Hangi dinner and Mauri show, as the bus to pick me up didn’t show I walked and was 10 minutes late.

We were shown where the food was cooked recreating the traditional  under ground cooking method, the food was good but I was told the  more expensive shows have better food. The dancing and singing  followed with an opportunity for the girls to get on stage and try to do  the traditional Poi dance and the guys to do the Haka.

We then headed out for a few drinks ending up at the Pig and Whistle pub, where after a couple of beers and watching some incredibly dreadful dancing I said goodbye and went home to bed.

10th October 2009 -

I was told that there was a local park where you could see up close the sulphur pools in Kuirau park, which also held a market today. The park was so surreal walking around and seeing bits of ground fenced off and steam coming out of the trees all around you. From there I followed the walkway to Motutara point and then onto Sulphur point, I also passed through a surviving Mauri old town with the first christian church and the Mauri meeting-house opposite.

The Rotorua museum was my next point of call which used to be a bath house taking advantage of the Sulphur coming up from beneath the ground. I also got to see a really amazing 360 degree view of Rotorua from the roof look out, where I learnt that the town of Rotorua was in the center of a Volcano and you could see that the surrounding hills were all the same height, the rim of the volcano’s crater. You were also able to go down to the basement and see the pipes all running along the base of the baths bringing the hot sulphur up to the baths.

11th October 2009 -

Was up early as had a massage booked in for 10:45 am at the Polynesian Spa and they recommended that you arrive 1 hour prior to use the 4 hot pools ranging in temperature from 36 to 42 degrees. After relaxing in the pools for an hour I sat in the waiting area, when my masseuse turned up she was wearing a bathing suit, this was because I had opted for the massage under water jets. It was amazing the warm water was like a massaging shower and then I had coconut oil massaged into each section of my body while the water jets massaged the rest. Did a bit of souvenir shopping on the way back, nearly spending money I didn’t have on a nice necklace made of  New Zealand green stone.

In the afternoon I walked to the Redwoods from town which took me an hour, nearly getting lost on the way.

I asked for a map of the walk up to the look out point at the top of the hill, it took about an hour and I was covered in sweat but it was all worth it the views were amazing. The trees in the woods were so tall and the view up above was so pretty, green and fresh.

12th October 2009 -

Up early again as I was being picked up to go to see the Lady Knox Geyser, and the Wai-O-Tapu wonderland. When we got to the Geyser there were lots of people seated, waiting with their cameras ready as we were all told that it erupts as 10:15 am everyday. So I got my camera out and checked the zoom and focus ready for 10:15, then a guy with a microphone walks out in front of everyone to tell us about the geyser and then puts soap into the top?? Which is why it erupts as the same time everyday, otherwise it would happen between 24 and 48 hours and it would be hard to predict.

Well it was amazing it shot up to about 25 feet and lasted over 5 minutes, we then visited some bubbling mud pools. The Thermal wonderland was really cool saw some amazingly different coloured sulphur pools, one called the champagne pool as it continuously bubbles like a glass of champagne.

Next stop Gisbourne…

The bus journey from Rotorua to Gisbourne through the Raukumara and Huiarau mountain ranges was beautiful, and 5 hours long . We stopped at Whakatane a beach side town with picturesque views and Opotiki for coffee. I was only staying in Gisbourne for one night, as I wanted to get up early and watch the sun rise first in the world for the next day. I walked to the bottom of the hill that night to check out how long it would take me, when I got back a few other people had appeared. One of whom had decided to join me on my sunrise walk the next day, we chatted and watched a film then off to bed as we had to get up at 4:30 am.

13th October 2009 -

Up early dressed and out the room in good time, started off down the road in total darkness but torch in hand as the hill had no street lighting. The walk up was so steep and millions of steps, stopped off halfway but it wasn’t high enough to see anything so we kept going to the top. When we got there I realised that the sun was in the wrong direction and we wouldn’t be able to see it over the sea, but would have to do with it over the top of the next hill. We waited 15 minutes and it was so cold and not much was happening we decided we had to walk down and get to where it was warm before we froze to death. So much for seeing the sun rise!

My bus driver to Napier was so funny he kept listing all the safety features etc. over and over throughout the journey, still managed to fall asleep and catch up on this mornings early waking. The hostel in Napier was really cool in an Art Deco building with a funny sign on the wall. I did the Art deco walking tour of Napier which was really interesting the building are so funky, all built in the same few years. Was planning to spend the evening in but as there wasn’t really anything going on at the hostel I looked up restaurants for dinner and found out that Napier housed New Zealand’s only Indonesian restaurant and it was down the marine parade. I got changed slapped on a little make up and headed off out of the sombre hostel, as I was walking down Marine parade I passed the Thai place that I’d also checked out it was packed. I decided that if the Indonesian place looked no good I’d come back and go there. After about 20 minutes walking the street was starting to look deserted mostly with residential places, I popped into one place to ask if they knew how much further it was. They said it was a bit further up and that they had heard it was really good, it better be its taken me 30 minutes to get here. I finally found the place and it looked really good, as I walked up I noticed there were no customers inside and then the guy behind the counter said that there last group had left 20 minutes ago and as they had no new customers they had decided to close up early…. aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh! I had just walked all this was and it was only 8:30 and they we bloody closed. Well back to the Thai place it is then and if there closed I’ll scream. So ok the Thai place was open and the food was amazing and the service was good too. I couldn’t finish it all so took the remaining home for lunch for tomorrow

14th October 2009 -

I had been told by so many that the Aquarium in Napier was the one to go to as it is the National Aquarium for New Zealand, so as my bus onto Taupo didn’t leave until 2pm that afternoon I thought I’d fit it in this morning. So I packed up and checked out to make the same walk down Marine parade as I had done the previous night, which was much more interesting in daylight as the views over the sea were so pretty. The Aquarium was interesting the best part was after just reading “The Life of Pi” where eating turtles is discussed in great detail seeing this:

Then there was a demonstration of a diver in the tank feeding the fish which included some of the biggest cray fish I had ever seen.

When I got back to the hostel the have my amazing left overs imagine my fury when I find out they chucked them in the bin that morning as I didn’t write my name on it. WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!! how ridicules there was only about a dozen people staying in the hostel and what if you don’t have a bloody pen! well there was no point arguing I took my bags and left. But it was a good thing in the end as I stopped at this Turkish place and had the best lamb salad and rice ever!

Leaving the sunshine of Napier behind I arrived in Taupo a couple of hours later completely under dressed the weather here was cold, wet and windy, I was in a vest and shorts . Here I was staying in the Urban retreat hostel, which was a lot bigger and busier than any of the others I’d stayed at. They also had a bar which served really cheap booze, but the wine which was $3 a glass was worst than drinking vinegar so I stuck to the beer off the tap. I had finish reading the second of the Twilight series (New M0on) in one afternoon and felt very accomplished lol and went to bed that night very happy.

15th October 2009 -

Decided that I wanted to go on the White Water Rafting trip down the Tongariro river so I called the best looking a flyer and they said to get picked up from where I was in Taupo they said they would need two people book. So put the idea to my room-mate Yvonne (from Germany) who was sceptical about the idea but said she would think about it. After lunch I called in at the I-Site centre to get a lift to the Huka Falls, when I got there I bumped into the two girls I had shared a room with in Rotorua and they had just seen the falls and then done the 45 minute walk to the natural hot springs. The falls were memorising the sound coming from all the water crashing against itself and the rocks was deafening I took so many photos and stood in awe of its beauty for over 20 minutes. As the weather was still okay I started down the path to the Hot springs, the views were so cool and the walk was a little wet and hilly. I stopped in a little clearing behind the bushes to wee as I was busting to go and couldn’t hold it much longer especially with nothing within 30 minutes walking distance. As I walked away I noticed that a few people had had the same dilemma but one despicable human being had thought that a number two would be acceptable, yuk! I was nearly sick, I quickly got out of there.

When I got to the Hot springs there were a couple of people drying off from having a quick soak in them, but I was soaked through and the though of getting into water wasn’t appealing. I followed the path up to the main road and walked home from there as it was closed than walking all the way back to the falls and getting a lift again. I got back and dried off changed my clothes and as I was just sitting down to my book and beer my room-mate walked in looking like I had 30 minutes earlier, she had just done the same walk as me but unfortunately had caught the rain. I spent that evening getting to know my room mates, Yvonne, Ute and Ingo over a few beers and shared travel stories, that night there was also a very large group of people getting very drunk and dancing on the tables, doing shots etc.

16th October 2009 -

When I woke Yvonne said she would come rafting too so I could go and when we called them up they said that they had a few more people already so it was definitely  happening. When we got there, there was enough people to fill a few boats and when we were changing the suit I so tight I had to have to of the girls pull it up to help me in it. :-p The river was amazing and the rapids were so cool, the only unexpected thing to happen was on a particularly big rapid our guide who was sitting behind me was thrown forwards and landed on my head like he had fallen out of the sky. At the end we were driven to the local hot pools (which is like a public swimming pools but the water is natural hot thermal water), to warm back up after being so cold in the river water. On the way back the driver gets a call over the radio to ask for us to check our bags as some things had gone missing at the base. When we got back, my bag was open with my purse open inside it, I checked and $50 had been taken, it then conspired that someone had walked in off the street and even though someone is always present in the office had been able to go through all the girls things. I was lucky two women had their phones taken and one poor girl had had her camera taken with all her holiday pictures on it. The police were called, a list was made of all the items taken and our contact details, The owner kindly gave us money out of the till for all the money that had been taken but the electronics he was unable to replace and therefore they all had to wait for the police to sort everything out.

That night we had dinner and a with a beer settled down to watch tonight’s group of people getting drunk and making fools of themselves. An entertaining night

17th October 2009 -

After a great nights sleep I said my goodbyes to Yvonne and went to catch my bus back to Auckland

xxx

Today, for us, is Monday October 26th and it is New Zealand’s Labour Day. We checked out of our hotel in Rotorua this morning and are sitting in a cafe eating breakie and lunch; so, brunchie.

We are at the southern tip of Lake Rotorua and are right next to the water. There is a war memorial park right next to the lake where vendor tents are set up with food, activities and souveniers; festival style.

Finishing brunchie, we’ll walk around there and soak up the sights, sounds and activities like/with the locals. It is a fantastic day, clear skys and heaps of sunshine.

Later in the day we will be heading south to Taupo, another lake town. Lake Taupo is the largest lake on the North Island for sure, possibly all of New Zealand-not sure.

As long as we follow our maps like we have been, stay to the left, and mind our speed on winding roads, we will be sweet as!

Sunday morning after breakfast, we took a stroll on the beach near our B&B, then said good-bye to our wonderful hosts. We landed at our hotel just long enough to drop our bags and fire over to the Zorbing hill.

This is a video of Jess going down the Zorbing hill inside that ball. It looks pretty slow until you get inside. The second video is James INSIDE the ball, he was able to take our waterproof camera in. Its pretty funny, he’s laughing all the way down!

Yes, all of the adrenaline thrills, breath taking views of awe, and all the absolutely fantastic people we’ve met are reasons why we are here in New Zealand.

The reason for this trip, however, is for our honeymoon; to celebrate our marriage. We are working on being in the moment, instead of caught up in it.

“We come to love not by finding a perfect person, instead by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. “
- Anonymous

This simple quote can be adapted to all relationships, and, in opinion, is why we are (here).

We hope everyone is doing brilliantly, that everything is sweet as, and have no worries. Cheers!

Nachdem wir morgens in der Frühe zur Arbeit gefahren sind und uns gesagt wurde, dass wegen des Regens unsere Arbeit nicht fortgesetzt werden kann, entschieden wir vier (Frederike ist letztens dazugekommen), dass wir nun zur Arbeit zuviel Spritgeld ausgegeben haben und fuhren weiter nach Rotorua (dem Ort, der wegen Vulkanaktivitäten schon bevor man ihn erreicht kilometerweit nach Schwefel riecht. ).
Endlich mal eine Abwechslung nach tagelangem, ja schon recht eintönigem, sehr regelmäßigem Ablauf!

Auf dem Weg nach Rotorua, machten wir an den „Okere Falls“ halt. Wir besichtigten verschiedene Wasserfälle und eine Grotte. Der Weg dorthin verlief durch den Neuseeländischen Urwald.

Überall in Rotorua sind Stellen, an denen Dampf aus der Erde aufsteigt. Dort gibt es deshalb auch viele Thermalbäder.
Wir entschieden nach „Ohinemutu Village“ in Rotorua zu fahren. Es liegt dierekt am „Lake Rotorua“. Es ist für die Maori ein sehr heiliger Ort. Leider regnete es weiterhin und wir haben uns nur die Anlage angesehen. Wenn ich nach Beendung meines Jobs auf der Kiwiplantage hierherkomme, werde ich eine Führung machen und mir die Zusammenhänge erklären lassen (Leider – aber warscheinlich beabsichtigt, stehen keine Erklärungen vor den Objekten.).
Danach besuchte ich zusammen mit Mariano das „Rotorua Museum“. Zur Einführung gab es einen Film und dann wurden wir duch die Ausstellung geführt, die sich als sehr sehenswert herausstellte! Wir waren begeistert.Die Maoriausstellung hat mir am allerbesten gefallen. Ich habe jetzt auch die Verbindung zu einigen Maori ziehen können, die mit mir auf der Plantage arbeiten. Einige sind die „Te Arawa“-Maori, ein Stamm der hier in diesem Gebiet um Rotorua heimisch ist…die Maori haben mich hier so fasziniert, dass ich mir gleich zwei Bücher über ihre Kunst und Legenden besorgen MUSSTE. (jetzt muss ich noch mehr mit mir herumschleppen ).
Am Ende der Führung bin ich zu dem Guide gegangen (die übrigens aus der Schweiz kam, wie sich herausstellte) und habe gleich mal erfragt ob sie eine Restaurierungswerkstatt oder so etwas hätten. Für Textilien wird es sehr wahrscheinlich schwierig, aber vielleicht findet sich etwas anderes in der Richtung… Sie gab mir verschiedene Adressen und jetzt schaue ich mal, was ich dort ergibt.
Rotorua hat viel zu bieten – Thermalbäder, aktive Vulkane, heiße Quellen und vielleicht einen Praktikumsplatz für mich.

Ohinemutu Village.

Hello !

Nous voilà de retour de Rotorua. Rotorua est “L’endroit” à visiter lorsque que l’on se trouve sur l’île du nord et que l’on s’intéresse aux activités géothermiques. Le nom de Rotorua est d’origine maori, le nom complet étant Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe. « Roto » signifie « lac » et « rua » « deux » ; donc « deuxième lac ».

Rotorua n’est qu’à deux heures et demie d’Auckland en voiture. C’est un des endroits les plus touristiques de NZ. Dès qu’on arrive dans la ville, on peut observer les fumées émanant des sources naturelles d’eau chaude à tous les coins de rue. Il règne dans la ville une forte odeur de souffre et donc d’œuf pourri qui confère à la ville un caractère particulier.

Rotorua est un berceau de la culture maorie, et s’est spécialisée dans les cures thermales.

Le programme de notre séjour s’établira donc autour des ces deux piliers. A notre arrivée le mardi nous descendons directement à notre auberge, la Funky Green Voyager. Notre installation accomplie, nous partons à la découverte de la ville. Ce qui sera vite fait puisque le centre (pompeusement appelé CBD pour central business district) se résume en deux rues principales. Après un burger au Pig & Whistle, le Pub populaire de la ville, installé dans l’ancien hôtel de police, nous voilà partis pour le Polynesian Spa (Private pool) vaste complexe de piscines et lacs naturels d’eaux chaudes.

Le lendemain nous partons à la découverte de Te Puia, un parc naturel où est reconstitué un village maori. On peut assister à l’éruption d’impressionnants geysers d’eau bouillante.

Les activités géothermiques de Te Puia

Le soir nous partons pour une immersion dans la vie maorie : spectacle, haka et dégustation du Hangi (plat traditionnel maori) sont au programme (plus de photos de notre séjour sur Picasa – Rotorua).

L'arrivée des maoris en pleine jungle

Ka mate Ka mate....

Le Hangi - Plat traditionnel maori

Le jeudi matin, avec un beau soleil mais un temps un peu frais pour la saison (5 degrés et pas de chauffage dans la chambre : glagla !!) nous nous essayons à la conduite à gauche avec la voiture de location. Quelques frayeurs plus loin, nous arrivons au Parc de Wai-O-Tapu où nous expérimentons diverses expériences géothermiques (dont le Devil bath – Lac de couleur vert acidulé dont la couleur est due à l’arsenic présent dans l’eau et la fameuse Champagne pool).

La Champagne Pool

L’après-midi nous partons pour la Waimangu Volcanic Valley – Petite rando de deux heures à travers un parc protégé avec de nombreuses activités géothermiques (pour changer !!)

Waimangu Volcanic Valley

L'inferno crater - Une eau acide à plus de 80 degrés

Le vendredi nous prenons le chemin du retour sous la pluie battante.

Cette première escapade en dehors d’Auckland valait vraiment la peine, histoire de recharger les batteries avant le Job & Car Hunting.

A bon entendeur…..

Maandag 5 oktober bij Tasman Bay Backpackers (Taupo) opgehaald door een klein Kiwi busje. In dat busje zaten Catriona en Johnny, mijn 2 medereizigers op de East As tour. Later zouden Natalie en Gillian er nog bij komen. De bestuurder? Dat was Pedro, gouden kiwi!

Vanwege het slechte weer werd het reisschema omgegooid en zouden we eerst naar Te Kaha rijden. Niet zo heel veel bijsters over te vertellen aangezien we alleen maar aan het rijden zijn geweest. Een paar foto’s kunnen maken maar voorderest weinig nieuws onder de zon.

’s Middags aangekomen in Te Kaha, bij de (jawel) Te Kaha Lodge. Daar werden we verwelkomt door een familie die hun huis ter beschikking had gesteld voor backpackers. Tenminste zo leek het, de gehele familie lag op de bank TV te kijken terwijl wij gebruik mochten maken van de rest van het huis.
Zo was er ook een bubbelbad, buiten, in de regen, in de stromende regen. Het bubbelbad was warm dus de regen namen we voor lief en we zijn er maar in gaan zitten. Na een half uurtje was de regen toch echt niet leuk meer en werd de poging gestaakt.
Terug naar het koelruimte om een biertje te pakken. Daar stond ons een verrassing te wachten: een paar jongens hadden een wild zwijn gevangen en hing nu in de koelruimte. Koel toch en een beetje vreemd

De volgende morgen (dinsdag alweer) werden we richting het uiterste puntje van de oostkust vervoerd. Daar stond ons de vuurtoren (oostelijkste puntje van Nieuw Zeeland = plaats waar je als eerste de zonsopkomst van die dag kan bekijken) te wachten. Na een stevige klim, hadden we een mooi uitzicht over de kust.
Hierna reed Pedro naar ons verblijfplaats voor die avond, een boederij. Heel de morgen geweldig weer gehad maar het was weer begonnen met regenen (storten zeg maar). Daar mochten we paardrijden, sieraden uit been maken en een hangi als maaltijd.
Vanwege het verschrikkelijke weer werd het paardrijden verplaatst naar de volgende morgen. De hangi ging ook niet door, helaas. De rest van de middag werd besteed aan het spelen van tafeltennis, sieraden maken, kampvuur maken in een plas van water (gelukt!) en het kijken van Whale Rider:

Woensdagochtend stond in het teken van de zonsopkomst (eerste van die dag ole ole) en paardrijden. In het gastenboek stond vermeld dat de hond Tucs je naar het strand zou brengen. Zo gezegd, zo niet gedaan.
Tucs had zin in een wandeling maar niet in het strand. Een half uur wandelen (in het donker!) werd een 2 uur durende wandeling. Tegen de tijd dat we in de gaten hadden waar we waren, was de zon allang opgekomen . Hond vervloekt, terug gelopen en klaargemaakt voor het paardrijden.

De laatste keer dat ik op een paard zat, was bij John Holster (samen met Jaap en Jap Pap) en was ik verre van gelukkig. Dat was in een bak. Nu moest ik heuvels beklimmen, afdalen en rivieren oversteken. Dat alles op een paard van 17 handen oftwel 172 cm hoog. Ik zeg er voorderest maar niets meer over. Leuk was anders dat moge duidelijk zijn.
Woensdagmiddag reden we naar Tatapouri, waar we naar Auntie An gingen. Maar voordat we er waren werd er HEY SHEEP gespeeld. Aangezien er meer schapen dan mensen zijn, waren er voldoende schapen om te laten schrikken. Opstelling is alsvolgt:

1. Kiwi busje stopt langs de weg.
2. Wacht tot alle schapen stil staan
3. Schreeuw zo hard mogelijk: HEY SHEEP!!
4. Tel hoeveel schapen er wegrennen (lopen telt niet)
De gelukkige winnaar was Catriona, 20 schapen. Ik kwam niet verder dan 2 :|

Auntie An had van alles te vertellen over het houten huis waar een aantal scenes van de film zijn opgenomen. Ze had voornamelijk veel te vertellen over haar cultuur. Zoals ik al eerder vertelde: een beetje vervanmijnbedshow.

’s Avonds aangekomen bij het hostel waar we ook roggen gingen voeren. ’s Middags konden we alleen koffie/thee drinken en wachten op het avond eten. Het voeren was namelijk geannuleerd vanwege het hoge water. Nu zouden we gaan voeren tijdens zonsopkomst!
Wederom de volgende morgen vroeg uit bed en gelijk in een waadpak, om vervolgens haring te voeren aan de roggen. Het voeren van haring ging aardig, alleen de roggen kwamen niet opdagen
Dan maar ontbijten en spullen inpakken.

De rest van de dag werd gevuld met rijden en lunchen. Op de laatste dag (donderdag) werden we naar Rotorua gebracht. Tijd voor een wasje en een lange douche. Catriona bleef in Whakatani (spreek uit: Fakatani)
en de rest van het groepje verbleef in Rotorua YHA.
Na de was-ellende (2 wasmachines is echt te weinig voor een hostel!) op naar de Indiër om (jawel, daar istie weer!) een ‘curry’ te eten

De volgende morgen ging iedereen zijn eigen weg. Ik bleef achter in Rotorua, beetje uitslapen en rond kijken in Rotorua. Tenminste als het niet regent
Volgende week op naar Bay of Islands om uiteindelijk in Auckland terecht te komen. Vanuit Auckland vlieg ik weer terug naar Perth.
Daar heb de dag na aankomst alweer een feestje op de planning staan .

Is there an English word for it? The feeling you get when you’re sitting out beyond the white line on your bike, further out than you should be, so that those bastard Fonterra milk tankers slow the fuck down, and you’re doing this bit of madness simply for your daughter who is cycling in front of you. Your life is in peril but you do it anyway. It’s a combination of pride, love, fear and adrenalin – it’s a pretty awesome feeling.

Monica and I cycled 178km from Taupo to Rotorua and back during Anzac weekend.

Anzac Day is the day we remember those who have fallen for us in the great wars. Those that fell while protecting us from an enemy, to ensure we stay free. Least we forget!

It was a great weekend of mother-daughter bonding … we had a great time, doing all the thing mothers and daughters should do. Monica is my shining star – 178km of tarmac under her tyres in three days – sore butt, sore back, sore legs but no complaints, only smiles – she rides 4km to school everyday and that was her only training for this ride – as I said – she is my shining star, tough as nails, pure grit and determination, and the best travelling companion to boot – she makes me so proud!