January 2 - January 4

Greetings from New Zealand again.

Before we really start talking about this leg, we were in such a hurry to finish writing about the first leg that we left out a lot of things, so we wanted to catch you up to speed on a few things.

Going barefoot in New Zealand is apparently something fairly common. We've been amazed at the number of folks we see in public places that are wearing no shoes.

When we went on the Fastboat tour, we learned that when someone gets eaten by a shark, they place a floatation marker in the water that indicates that's where they died. They use different colored markers to indicate which type of shark did the damage. They mentioned that if a person fell into the water (especially around the Hole in the Rock), they had a two minute survival time. The area seems to be populated with not only sharks but piranha. Somewhat morbid, but interesting nonetheless.

There is a slight racket going on with security in public car parking areas. We've found this several times. When there is a public attraction, there is usually a member of one of the local clubs who provides a $2 "donation" service of watching you car.

We're already sunburned and when the normally white sand is mixed with black volcanic sand, it is really HOT.

Okay, now on for the second leg.

We packed up from Paihia where Doug learned that a normal washing machine cycle is 2 HOURS!! There was a washer/dryer at the apartment, and we wanted to do one load of laundry right before we left, but we ended up having to leave with damp clothes.

Our first tourist stop was at the "World Famous" (at least that's what they proclaim) Hunderfwasser Toilets (artistic public restrooms). The first pic up at the top is taken there.

The drive seems like it lasted forever (7+ hours) and most of it was in the rain. We finally arrived at the Waitomo Valley and checked into our "plane.

We headed to the nearby larger town in search for dinner and groceries and were unsuccessful in both areas. Everything was closed and it was only 7:30!

We went back to the Waitomo Valley village and tried the restaurant at the only hotel where they were serving a very mediocre buffet. We skipped that and settled for pizza. Even the pizza place ran out of cheese!

We went on a glow-worm walk. There was a Dutch couple there whose torch (flashlight) batteries were out and wanted to go on the walk too. So we let them join us. They're on vacation for 9 MONTHS! Now that's something to think about for the next vacation. We got semi-lost on the self-guided tour, but everything worked out okay.

The next morning we went Blackwater Rafting at 9:00 am. They give you wetsuits and an innertube and then take you out to the underground river. There was a lot of walking on rocks, but for the most part, it was pretty cool. And the water was 50 degrees. Brrrr! Good thing for that wetsuit.

We ate a quick lunch and then headed back to the plane for showers and dry clothes. At the park where we are staying, there is the plane and some hobbitt holes for nightly rent. The guy who owns and runs the place also puts on a Kiwi Culture show. We caught that and saw a trained pig, a HUGE steer, a sheep herding dog, and a sheep shearing demonstration.
We also learned a lot about the area and the culture in general. For instance, the area is mainly for farming, but a long time ago, it was actually brush. They came along and cleared everything and planted grass for farming. A lot of the cows are used for export beef back to the USA. We also learned that until recently, the world record sheep shearer could shear 800 sheep in one 9 hour day!

We went to the Kiwi House and caught a Kiwi feeding. Do they look anything like the bird on the shoe polish can? They're nocturnal and very fast for a small bird with no wings.

We went on the glow-worm cave tour (no innertubes this time). It's a very attractive cave with an enormous number of glow-worms. Excellent tour!!

From there we went to the Cave Museum and learned about the history of caving in the area.

Quest for dinner - AGAIN! UGH! Nothing was really open, but we were able to catch dinner at the larger town bar which actually had a pretty good selection. We haven't had this much trouble finding food since we were in Chicago for the 4th of July.

We packed up the plane and headed to Rotorua. On the way out of town, we stopped by an angora rabbit barn where they shear angora rabbits. We met Ralph, the angora rabbit, there. He was quite fluffy!

On to Rotorua! Check out our web in a couple of days for the next update

Logistics

Hopefully we'll be over our jetlag by the time we get here, and we'll be here 2 nights.

We're actually staying in a plane (Doug found it).

This area is home to the Waitomo Caves where we plan to check out the Glowworms and do some black-water rafting.