Merry Christmas!
Santa found us in New Zealand!
Today was really low key. We stayed in our cabin nearly the whole day because the weather was rainy and misty and all together uninviting. We did venture out in the afternoon to find the glacier and I got some really get pictures of the mist, but the glacier itself was nowhere to be found.
We did our best at a traditional kiwi Christmas. We had hamburgers for dinner and pavlova with whipped cream and kiwis for dessert. This evening we all watched Whale Rider, a really beautifully done film about a Maori girl finding her place in her family.
Exhaustion, excitement, and travel adjustments have led to a few meltdowns. Hopefully this day of less activity can help us reset for the last few adventures this week.
Santa found us in New Zealand!
Today was really low key. We stayed in our cabin nearly the whole day because the weather was rainy and misty and all together uninviting. We did venture out in the afternoon to find the glacier and I got some really get pictures of the mist, but the glacier itself was nowhere to be found.
We did our best at a traditional kiwi Christmas. We had hamburgers for dinner and pavlova with whipped cream and kiwis for dessert. This evening we all watched Whale Rider, a really beautifully done film about a Maori girl finding her place in her family.
Exhaustion, excitement, and travel adjustments have led to a few meltdowns. Hopefully this day of less activity can help us reset for the last few adventures this week.
Catch-up time:
December 18th
**I wrote this in a restaurant in one of Alyssa’s blank note pads and only just found it again this morning**
I’m falling behind on the blog! We have been so busy; it’s hard to find some down time to set up the computer to type. We are waiting for dinner at a pub in Turangi after another full day in Rotorua, but first I need to catch up on yesterday.
We left Hamilton for an early tour of Hobbiton. It was really different from 20 years agon. They have done a lot with the place. There are tons of new Hobbit holes, and everything is beautifully landscaped. Each hold has a family/story/theme. I have a picture of me in a Hobbit hole 20 years ago, and I was determined to figure out which one it was. Turns out it was the home of Bilbo Baggins, which is no longer accessible to go into. The tour guide told us all about the movie production; the whole set was built for 14 minutes of total screen time across the whole LOTR series. Now it is maintained – in the middle of a working farm – as the 3rd most visited site in New Zealand.
Next we continued our trip east to Turanga to hike Mt. Maunganui. Dr. Mecham, the Pohutukawa were, indeed, in bloom ALL over the mountain. We climbed to the top in the posted average time of 45 minutes and found the views from the tippy top to be less than expected due to the lush growth of the vegetation in the last 20 years. There were many viewpoints from the trail along the way up and down. I have tons of pictures. It was a good little warm-up to the hike we are doing tomorrow (referring to the 10 hour, 12 mile trek on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Mt. Maunganui was cake compared to that).
We ended the day in Rotorua at the Mitai Maori Village. We saw some Maori songs, dances, ceremonies, at a Hangi (feast cooked in a pit in the ground), and saw some more glow worms. We were allowed to try to take pictures this time.
December 18th
**I wrote this in a restaurant in one of Alyssa’s blank note pads and only just found it again this morning**
I’m falling behind on the blog! We have been so busy; it’s hard to find some down time to set up the computer to type. We are waiting for dinner at a pub in Turangi after another full day in Rotorua, but first I need to catch up on yesterday.
We left Hamilton for an early tour of Hobbiton. It was really different from 20 years agon. They have done a lot with the place. There are tons of new Hobbit holes, and everything is beautifully landscaped. Each hold has a family/story/theme. I have a picture of me in a Hobbit hole 20 years ago, and I was determined to figure out which one it was. Turns out it was the home of Bilbo Baggins, which is no longer accessible to go into. The tour guide told us all about the movie production; the whole set was built for 14 minutes of total screen time across the whole LOTR series. Now it is maintained – in the middle of a working farm – as the 3rd most visited site in New Zealand.
Next we continued our trip east to Turanga to hike Mt. Maunganui. Dr. Mecham, the Pohutukawa were, indeed, in bloom ALL over the mountain. We climbed to the top in the posted average time of 45 minutes and found the views from the tippy top to be less than expected due to the lush growth of the vegetation in the last 20 years. There were many viewpoints from the trail along the way up and down. I have tons of pictures. It was a good little warm-up to the hike we are doing tomorrow (referring to the 10 hour, 12 mile trek on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Mt. Maunganui was cake compared to that).
We ended the day in Rotorua at the Mitai Maori Village. We saw some Maori songs, dances, ceremonies, at a Hangi (feast cooked in a pit in the ground), and saw some more glow worms. We were allowed to try to take pictures this time.