The last few days have been extremely busy but have been a ton of fun. I’ve finally adjusted to the time change here and my head is not quite in the fog that it was in, so hopefully this entry makes a little more sense than my last posting. I’ll be able to post pictures soon but I’ll have to go into town to do that… and I need a few more driving lessons before I can just drive into town :)
My first full day in New Zealand I had the pleasure of spending the day with my Aunt, Cousin, and two family friends that were also visiting New Zealand. We were all interesting in the learning about the culture of NZ. Rotoura is quite a large tourist city and my Aunt and Cousin took us to “Te Puia” which is a museum dedicated to educating the public about NZ and the Maori natives. We also saw the Geothermal Valley and the Pahuta Geyer which erupts two to three times per hour. There was also the Kiwi House where I saw my first Kiwi bird. They are nocturnal birds that are very sensitive to light and sound so I wasn’t able to take any pictures but they were cute little birds. (www.tepuia.com)
The way the Maori people record time is by carving and storytelling. They combine whole sentences or phrases together to help their people remember. An example is “Whakarewarewatanga” which means “The gathering place of the war parties of Wahio.” The Geyer create a pretty nasty sulfur smell that you get a good whiff of every time you head into Rotorua. The geothermal activity has created natural hot pools all around the area. I haven’t been to one yet but I plan on going to one soon.
My second day was mostly busy work. I got my NZ drivers license which I technically didn’t even need to get but just wanted to have. I didn’t have to take any kind of driving exam, all I had to do was show them my US license. Also got my Tax Number (kind of like a Social Security number) so that I’m able to work and set up all of my Bank Accounts. All of this took nearly the whole day but it wasn’t bad, I enjoyed running around and getting everything taken care of at once.
I had heard that the there was an underground river that I had to see so that was our mission for my third day in NZ. My Cousin Jen, Whitney (the other family friend visiting) and myself all went out to see this river and the glowworms that they housed. It took us nearly three hours to make it to the Waitomo Caves. I loved the drive! Saw plenty of lush green farmland of cow, cattle, deer, and sheep farms. Once we made it to the caves we took a tour through one of the 300 limestone caves. Cameras weren’t allowed but I was sneaky and got a few decent pictures :) After walking through the caves we got to take a boat ride through the river to see the glowworms. The larva of the glowworm fly is what glows and it glows to attract insects in the dark caves. The whole idea of looking at worms kind of grosses me out but it was actually quite breath taking. They looked like the night sky full of stars. I really enjoyed the entire day and I’m happy that we made the drive up. (www.waitomo.com)
Yesterday was probably my favorite day so far. I got to go snowboarding in JULY, still a crazy concept for me to grasp hold of. We drove another three hours to Mt. Ruapehu and snowboarded down the Turoa side of the mountain. There is also the Whakapapa (pronounces Fuak-a-Papa) which I’ll probably go to the next time I head up. The mountains here are all volcanoes so there are no trees up near the slopes. The snow was a little icy but after the last snowboarding season I was use to it. There were plenty of runs to take and so many different places to explore around once we were up there. The view was incredible and we went up on a perfect day. It was sunny and clear so you could see for miles. I’m looking forward to traveling down to the South Island to board on a few mountains down there. (www.mtruapehu.com)
I start work on Monday and am oddly looking forward to it. All of the cows here are grass fed and the farm smells fresh and clean. There is no US Dairy farm smell which I am grateful for. It is calving season so I will be plenty busy, I’ll probably have quite a few stories to tell from this experience. I’m already planning out my next journey to see the country. I’m so happy that I am finally here and can’t wait to see more!
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