Woodlyn Park

We drove today to Waitomo, staying at Woodlyn Park, a center of "demented ingenuity", as Ilona called it. First the "motel" aspect: their goal seems to be to make a motel out of practically anything. They have rooms in an old train car, they have rooms in an old boat, they have a WWII-era airplane with rooms. Our room was in the "Hobbit Motel", with round doors and a hobbit-y feel to it. Surprisingly, the rooms were very spacious and very well furnished with high quality furnishings.




Woodlyn Park also runs a one-man "Kiwi Culture Show" that was a blast. It was held in an old barn that doubles as the reception/event area. The barn is filled with "antiques" (old junk, but enough to compete with the Waiheke Historical Society museum). There were only six of us in the audience (the four of us and another couple) but he ("Billy Black", though there appear to be more than one of him based on pictures from other shows) gave a great performance. Audience participation was a must, of course, so Mike took a stab at sawing a log (we would have made it through if my partner had worked a bit harder!), Ilona helped him blow up a log (not really, but there was a big bang), and Karin and Ilona helped him shear a sheep by cranking the clippers for him. There were animals (a pig, sheep, dog chasing the sheep, possum, goat, and, for the big finale, a cow). We actually learned a lot during the hour, and had a great time.



After the show, we went to the Waitomo Glow Worm Cave, which was the real reason we came to Waitomo. The area around Waitomo is littered with caves, caverns, and tunnels. Many of these have rivers run through them, and these dark, damp places attract "glow worms", a larval stage of a particular fly (technically, they should be called "glow maggots", but marketing stepped in to change the name). On our tour we first walked through a series of spectacular cathedral-like caves leading down to the underground river. The glow-worms live on the roof of the caves, and hang down filaments of silk to catch other insects to eat. It was kinda creepy to see thousands of these filaments hanging down above us.

We then got in a boat and coasted for about 15 minutes underground. Above us (in the totally dark cavern) were thousands of glow worms. It looked like a particularly starry night (with big green stars). Finally we made it to the entrance, where the stream exits the cavern system. No photos were allowed, but we bought the tourist photo of us in the cave, so I'll add that once I get to a scanner.

Click for Woodlyn Park photos

Hell's Gate

Today we went to another thermal area, but one that is radically different from yesterday's. "Hell's Gate" was named by George Bernard Shaw, who supposedly said:

Hell's Gate, I think, is the most damnable I have ever visited, and I'd willingly have paid ten pounds not to have seen it.

It's real name is Tikitere, a contraction of "Taku tiki i tere nei" -My youngest daughter has floated away - based on a story of a chief's daughter who jumped into one of the boiling hot pools.

Unlike yesterday, which felt like a walk in the woods with weird water features, today was liking walking on the moon. The area is filled with boiling mud pools, sulpher pools, boiling water pools and so on. There is even a large hot water waterfall ("only" the temperature of a hot shower).

After the walk, we spent some time at the spa there. We all took a mud bath (Alexander loved that!) then hung out in some sulpher pools. Ilona and Karin then got massages while Alexander and Mike did some more wandering around.

Alexander's favorite part: "Sticking my head through the pictures".

HellsGate

Waimangu Valley

Last night we stayed at the Regal Palms Motel in Rotorua (where we will stay for three nights). Rotorua is a funny town: it is pretty large town (70,000 people) and, due to the amount of thermal (read volcanic) activity, it has a very strong smell. You lose your ability to smell the "rotten eggs" smell after an hour or two, but then sometimes it strengthens and overwhelms you again.

The volcanic activity attracts a lot of tourists, so Rotorua is really a "Town of Motels". For some reason (undoubtedly due to economic competition), every one of the thousands of hotel and motel rooms in Rotorua has an "In Room Spa Bath". Ours was no exception. It was big enough to sit six (not that we had six people to test it out). Our motel also had a mini-golf course, a playground, a pool, a gym, and extremely well equipped rooms. Great place to stay.





Today we went out to Waimangu Volcanic Valley, a few miles away from Rotorua. You walk (or take a shuttle bus) down the valley, ending up a big lake (Lake Rotomahana). The lake was formed during the 1886 explosion that reformed the area. Before the explosion, there were magnificent formations called the Pink and White Terraces that attracted people from around the world (at a time when New Zealand was very hard to get to). The Terraces were instantly obliterated, and the area is now covered by a hundred feet or more of water.

It was a spectacular walk, with the highlight being the Inferno Crater, a brilliant light blue color. The most amazing thing was the amount of natural wildlife (ferns, trees, black swans, and more) right next to areas that are boiling hot (some of the pools are well over 100 degrees Celsius, with the minerals increasing the boiling point of the water.

Ilona also used the new camera for the first time, so you will see a few pictures of her with it.



We went a little crazy on picture taking today, with the three of us taking more than 350 photos. Here are a few, with some more in an album for the really keen.

Click for the Waimangu Valley Album

Time for a Trip: First stop: Hobbiton!

While we have been in New Zealand for more than four months, we haven't done a very good job of getting out to see the country, having only visited Auckland and Russell so far. Partially this is because we really like Waiheke, partially it is laziness, and partially it is a wish to get really settled before heading out. Well, it is time to see more of the country, so off we go on a five day trip! Just a warning: Ilona began using her new camera so we have three cameras going on this trip (we ended up taking 882 photos during the five days: I won't post all of them!).

Our first stop is something Mike has been looking forward to: Hobbiton! Peter Jackson, for his Lord of the Rings Movies, based Hobbiton at a sheep farm outside the town of Matamata. The key aspect he needed was a lake with a large tree beside it (to be the "party tree" for Bilbo's birthday party). The site he chose is lovely, with no sign of human activity (no power lines or roads or buildings in sight).




After the movie, most of the set was taken down (a lot was made of foam, so it couldn't last long anyway). A few hobbit holes are still in place, and there are boards (and an excellent guide) to show you where things were. It was great playing "Peter Jackson" to see where things would fit. And, except for an unbelievable amount of sheep "droppings", it is a beautiful outing.

Click on the following to see many more photos!

Click for the Hobbiton Album

Kids are funny (how original!)

While this blog is supposed to be about us and New Zealand, it is also about Alexander growing up. He has made tremendous leaps since we arrived. Part of our "training" is encouraging (or forcing) politeness. Being one of the few kids his age to say "please" and "thank you" consistently causes others to overlook his ... lapses. It is not clear how deep this politeness goes, however, after this exchange after a less-than-successful meal:

Thank you for the nice meal, Mommy. It was too yucky for me.

Blustery day

It was a rainy, windy day today. Most of the time, the weather comes from the south/west, so it blows over the house and the bay is relatively calm. Once in a while it comes from the north/east and it makes the bay a bit rougher.


We all stayed in today, and Alexander and Karin prepared a circus show for us in the evening.

Farmer Alexander

Alexander woke up today wanting to be a farmer. Fortunately we had just the gear. We'll get him working on his cousin's farm before long.



He got to continue the theme at the Steiner Kindergarten which has animals for him to feed (and chase).

Dragons in the Tunnels

The finish to the "Festival of Story" is held at Stoney Batter tunnels and involves dragons, knights, princesses, heroes, and magic. Though the day was organized with typical island efficiency, it was wonderful. The corridors of the tunnels were lined with candles, and the story tellers were very good. They did provide a magician to entertain the kids waiting to go in the tunnels. Alexander, complete with knight's helmet (somewhat the worse for wear due to the rain) had a great day.



A few gale-like storms crossed through but we were lucky enough to get a ride for most of the walk in and most of the day was very nice. The vineyards look wonderful this time of year!

Queens Birthday Weekend Pictures

It is nice that the Queen arranges to have her birthday celebrated in June just when we could use a long weekend. Lots of boats in the harbor, and Alexander plays in all his various places. We even got the fountain in the fishpond to work.

Story time at the Marae

This evening was the start of the "Once upon an Island Festival of Story" (the story lady on the island is extremely active). The opening occurred at the Piritahi Marae about a three minute drive away. A Marae is a Maori religious and meeting place which generally has a meeting hall and some other buildings. One cannot simply wander into a marae: there is a special welcome ceremony called a powhiri to go through. The visitors (manuhiri) all sit in an area while a group from the marae challenge their entry. Responses are given by representatives of the manuhiri, songs are sung, and then we are welcomed through hongi (touching of foreheads and noses) with the marae group. It was very touching and a real sign of community. It was not perfunctory (it lasted more than 20 minutes and was described as a short powhiri) and obviously not designed for tourists but was a real reflection of how the Maori feel about their marae.

Alexander was great during the ceremony, and enjoyed the hongi. The only person hesitant about him was the elder (a man certainly in his 70s or more) who visibly flinched around Alexander. I would guess he has been headbutted by too many European kids to feel perfectly comfortable around them. But Alexander was gentle with him.

The storytime was excellent. We only stayed for the first two stories (an extended song about Chicken Little and a story from "Roots" of an African boy and a crocodile) but we were all captivated.

Cooking day

It is not all beaches and swingsets. Sometimes it is just making "monkey bread" at home.