Redwood Forest, Ziplining in Rotorua, and a Maori Feast for Thanksgiving (Pictures Included)

    11/28/13

    Two days ago we arrived in Rotorua, where we checked in to a hostel called Crash Palace.  We got off to an awesome start in Rotorua; as soon as we pulled up outside, our buddy Tilman who we met in Raglan came running out with a big smile on his face to say hi to us and fill us in on everything we needed to do while we were here.  What's more, as soon as we walked in, our good friend Max (who is the hobbit Pippin in our own little fellowship) was sitting on the couch in the lounge, and equally excited that we had just happened upon the same hostel he was staying in.  And even better yet, the room the desk had reserved for us was the very room Max was staying in; a four bed suite.  But I get a bit ahead of myself...on our way in to Rotorua, we stopped by an attraction that looked interesting to us, which was called a thermal walk.  It featured footpaths carved through New Zealand forest, winding around hot vents in the ground with huge amounts of steam rising up through the earth on all sides and bubbling mud pits dispersed throughout.  The whole place smelled like sulphur, but that was a minor price to pay.  Also, the venue that was offering the thermal walk featured lots of really cool animals, including some gorgeous peacocks.

    As soon as we got in to Rotorua, Max was determined to play the part of tour guide and he took us around on a really nice walk around a big lake with more steaming vents and through the town, where we stopped at an Irish pub for some shepherd's pies and pints, in the spirit of being Hobbits.  Oh, and another thing...I finally remembered to take some pictures of the hostel we're in now, so as to give you guys an idea of what those are like.  This isn't the coolest one we've stayed at, but I think it provides a pretty accurate representation for what a typical hostel is like.

There's also a nice lounge with leather sofas, a free pool table, and even a massage chair, but I just feel weird taking pictures of it because there's always people sitting in there, and our bedroom is fairly basic with a couple closets and four twin beds.  So, now that that's done, back to the daily activities we've been up to...this morning right after we woke up, we went for a hike through an awesome redwood forest with a really sweet Austrian girl we met the day before named Judith.  The redwoods were beautiful, and extraordinarily tall, with dense vegetation around them in spots and also some little ponds with the most crystal clear water I think I've ever seen.

After the redwood forest, Kellogg, Max and I went to do some ziplining through another New Zealand jungle, which was actually rated the number one attraction on all of the north island.  The ziplines were amazing; there weren't too many of them, but some were as long as 700 feet from end to end and we often found ourselves gliding over treetops that were about 60 feet below us.  Whenever that wasn't the case, we were zipping through the dense forest with trees on all sides, and I've never felt more like a monkey in my life.  On the last couple lines, we got to go upside down, which was a pretty awesome time, and Kellogg recorded some great GoPro videos that I'm sure you'll be able to find on facebook soon.
    Right after we got done ziplining, we had to rush back to the hostel to meet up with Dardan and Luise, who had just finished their first WWOOFing gig on a farm near Raglan, and we all shot over to the Tamaki Maori village just in time for an awesome Maori tribal ceremony and barbecue feast, which we found to be quite appropriate for a Thanksgiving in New Zealand (they even served a bunch of stuffing there, though they were oblivious to the fact that it was Thanksgiving for us).  I forgot to take my camera with me to the feast because it was charging (which I am very sorry about), but it truly was a remarkable experience, including an education on typical Maori tattooing, weaving, dancing, and military training practices, a tour through their whole village, as well as instruction on how to dance the famous Haka and an awe-inspiring Maori performance of all the above to show us just how far we had to go before we were as dextrous and nimble as the native people are themselves.  The feast was just as good as the cultural experience, offering all you can eat chicken, fish, beef, kumara, and potatoes, all cooked in the Maori fire pits, as well as a host of other things, like stuffing, cole slaw, potato salad, and local cakes, pies, and puddings served with cream and custard for dessert.  Though I'd be hard pressed to say we could dance or fight like Maoris after our limited instruction, we certainly ate like them tonight.
    We've got another full agenda planned out for tomorrow, starting out in the morning with zorbing (rolling down the New Zealand hillside in what essentially amounts to a giant hamster ball that you're strapped in to) and then going to pet some lion cubs after that, which really has nothing to do with New Zealand but is at the same time something that just sounds too good to pass up.  I mean, who among us hasn't always dreamed of spending an afternoon kickin' it old school with the likes of Simba and Nala?  After we're done with that, Simon, Kellogg, Dardan, Luise and I are all heading south to the Bay of Plenty, where we'll spend three or four days, on our way down further south to the town of Gisborne, where we have our next WWOOFing gig lined up.  The farm we're bound for sounds really awesome, with thousands of acres of land, seven or eight ATV's, and over twelve WWOOFers at any given time.  Once we're done there, we'll be headed back up north for a bit to Graham and Michelle's farm for Christmas, and then Coromandel where we'll stay with their son James and his fiancée Danica to celebrate New Years.  I'm sure I'll write again before that, though, probably more than once, and I'll try not to forget to take my camera to anything worth photographing.  Thanks again as always for reading, everybody, and I'll keep you all posted as our adventure progresses!

Praying I don't get mauled by a lion tomorrow,
Jack