Day 251 (Sunday 22nd) - An Unexpectedly Good Ending
We headed out of Wellington at early, and did the enormous drive to Taupo, through the pouring rain. Consequently, apart from a breif wander around ton, their wasn't really much to be done. When I went back to the hostel, they were playing Blues Brothers in the bar, which I informed all and sundry was my favourite film, and regaled a small Canadian girl with trivia, then Trainspotting came on, then as I tucked into my $7.50 pint and chili, it was time for Life Of Brian. Incredibly, the Canadian's name was Santana, and we played some pool and I introduced her to the wonders of snakebite. When the bar closed, we were semi-joking about going to the hot pools nearby, when we found out they were a half hour's walk away. However, we were then informed that the barman, James, had a van, and that a few other people wanted to go too, so nine of us in total (myself, James and 7 girls) all piled in and went via Woolworths to grab some booze, then out to the pools, which were wicked. We had to be absolutely silent, as it was on Maori land and we had to walk right by their houses, but it was worth it. It wasn't a pool so much as a stream, which had been widened for 10 metres or so, had a flat floor and walls put in, with a waterfall at either end (one in, one out). The water must have been at least 36 degrees, and was really nice. We swam about, chatted nonsense, and generally had a really relaxing time until about 2 when we headed back to the Hostel for a sleep. I wish I could write more about this to try and get across how cool it was, but there really isn't anything else I can say - it was warm, it was dark, it was out in the middle of nowhere, and everyone really enjoyed themselves. Considering how listless I had been feeling for the 27 hours or so previous to our heading out, it was a pretty incredible ending to an otherwise unremarkable Sunday night (apart from Blues Brothers, of course - always remarkable).
Day 252 (Monday 23rd) - Rotorua
After a fitful and inadequate night's sleep, I hopped on the bus having had an odd breakfast of a carrot, muesli bar, crumpet & promite & a coke. Only a short ride today, an hour or so up the road to Rotorua. It was pissing down all the way, so there was no skydiving & no nice views. In Rotorua I decided to go on the Hobbiton tour and figure out how and when to go and see Wayne - after much faffing, a confusing phone call, and three separate visits to the information centre, I decided on a course of action - I would spend the time in between lunch and the Maori cultural evening exploring the town, and in the morning go out to the Wai-o-tapu "Thermal Wonderland". Back in time for lunch, I would then get the shuttle to the Hobbiton movie set, do the tour, and then meet Wayne in the afternoon, stay the night, and meet the bus at 1145 the next day for the final leg to Auckland. Sorted.
So, I wandered round town for a few hours, took a walk around the lake and the sulphur vents - amazingly, this area used to be used as a landfill - in some areas there are tires poking out of the ground, buried underneath sulphur mounds. Also I found an area where there were vents belching steam, and a pit full of black boiling water/mud, with no fences or anything. I wandered for ages, right out to the end of town, while all the time it was pissing down with rain. I walked back into town, read in the room for a while and at seven o'clock headed out on the bus to the Tamaki Maori Village. We nominated a tribal chief (big Darryl from Sydney) to represent our bus for the evening's proceedings, then headed in for the first part - the ceremonial challenge. This involved four Maori warriors representing the four elements and the four spirits of the land. There was much chanting, confrontational dancing and spear waving, followed by the presentation of a peace offering to the chiefs. We went into the village, reconstructed as the Maori would have lived before the arrival of the Europeans, and saw the way they would have preserved food, carved wood, and tattooed each other. It was pretty interesting, and they were all dressed in flax and furs. Next was the various dances, including Poi and a haka, and a few traditional songs, including the love story of the chief who used to live on the island in Lake Rotorua, the descendants of whom now ran the village. The guys performing it all were massive, as were the ladies - fine examples of huge Maoris, all with at least a tattoo or too, and mostly with some fake ones on their faces. On that note, I saw a lady in the visitor centre today with Maori tattoos on her chin, just going about her day. I've not seen that on a woman before. Anyway, after the songs and dances we went for the Hangi, or feast, an enormous buffet of lamb, chicken, fish, mussels, carrots, pasta, sweet potatoes, kiwi pavlova, steamed pudding and a few other things I have forgotten. Whatever was there, it was delicious and I had far too much of it. We had a few more songs and dances afterwards (I gave the Haka a try), before hopping back on the bus and going back to town. I am now writing this in my room while my roommates (Abi, Amy and Rick) write their journals and read their books. I'm up at 0745 tomorrow, so I might call it a night. Kia Ora!
Day 253 (Tuesday 24th) - 'Thermal Wonderland' & Hobbiton
I awoke to a rather dreary and wet Rotorua this morning, somewhat dreading the prospect of walking around Wai-o-tapu for a few hours. I hopped on the bus and off to our first stop, the boiling mud pools, which we in fact visited yesterday on our way there. I borrowed the driver's umbrella (which I did for the rest of the day too) and headed out on the tour of the main thermal park. Thinking back, I remember a lot of yellow pools, bubbling vents, a strong smell of sulphur, and a general damp feeling. That said, I did feel a bit like I was walking on a combination of the moon and hell, which was pretty cool. The champagne pools, the green, blue and red pools which are on all the brochures and buses, are in fact very impressive. I'm glad I went, it just would have somewhat more impressive if the weather was better - as the air was so cold, there was so much steam around that much of the 'Wonders' were obscured.
After a somewhat meagre lunch of satay noodles and paté (on toast, not mixed together), I got the shuttle to Hobbiton - or Matamata as it's properly known. Our well moustached guide told us loads about Peter Jackson's film history and the choosing of the location for Hobbiton. Before the tour started we were treated to a sheep shearing demo, then we were off through rolling countryside to see the set - only 17 of the original 37 Hobbit holes remain, as all the others were destroyed due to the contract between the farmers and the film studio. Even though all the decoration has been removed, and the holes are just whitewashed wood façades now, you still got a real feel for how it must have been during filming, the party tree and the lake real and still there, and the rain stayed away just long enough to get some cool photos. Also, I finally (after much bemoaning and criticism of the camera) found out how to change the setting son my camera, ISO and white balance etc. After all this I met my godfather Wayne outside the info centre, and headed to his house outside town, where I met his son Benjamin (again) and his daughter Emily (for the first time). We had a nice evening, I played with Benjamin's robot, chatted to him about TV and stuff, and we all watched The Amazing Race together. I forgot that Wayne had travelled more than anyone I've met - he travelled from New Zealand to London back in 1973, and didn't return for 18 years. Also, much of this journey (Nepal to London) was done overland, taking 3 months. He told me how awful Kandahar was, among other stories. After the kids had gone to bed, we had a chat and a beer, and generally a pretty pleasant evening. I was in bed by 10, and slept really well in Benjamin's room, unhampered by other Backpackers wandering around.
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