Hello Roto-Vegas!
Auckland seems like a really beautiful place. I say “seems” because we feel like we’ve barely even scratched the surface. We’ve had a glimpse at the skyline and harbour and hung out in a suburban caravan park for a couple of days. This must be what it’s like to visit a city for work and not get a chance to have a good look around. It’s just whet our appetite to come again one day and play tourist.
The boys will be playing three games in total on this trip but they only each have one jersey, one pair of footy shorts and one set of socks. You can imagine without too much trouble I’m sure, the state of this aforementioned footy attire after a sweaty match of running around in the mud. Not good. The mums came up with a fool-proof plan whereby all the boys would meet us in the laundry, write their names on their various sweaty, muddy, stenchy items and they’d be washed, folded and returned to the boys smelling sweet and looking pristine, ready for the next game. I’m happy to say, the plan came off without a hitch. Good on you mums.
We congregated again at the BBQs first thing this morning for a repeat of yesterday’s scrumptious brekky and then had a swift pack-up and check-out by 9am. Well…that was the aim but as I’ve said before, getting 40 people organised and out the door on time isn’t always as smooth an operation as it should be! in fact, I think the big hand was well and truly encroaching on 10 before the coach actually left the building!
Our destination today was “Sulphur City”, or “Roto-Vegas” as the locals call it. The coach trip from Auckland to Rotorua was so scenic with beautiful rolling grassy hills and pastures stretching out to the horizon on either side of the coach. It reminded me a lot of the NSW South Coast, just greener and steeper and more vast. Big black cows were in abundance in this part of New Zealand, huddled together in sizeable groups, munching down on this gourmet grass. We were surprised to see only a smattering of sheep, clearly outnumbered in these parts by their bovine mates. Many of the steeper grassy hills had lines of ridges gouged out of them – now covered in grass – giving them a mini- terraced appearance and apparently designed to minimise land slip, with the soft volcanic soil prone to slides. They looked like miniature rice terraces from Bali. There were also little hills that had popped up all over the place where underground volcanic activity had burst through the earth’s surface, like pimples erupting. Fascinating stuff!
We had a quick stop at Matermater for a much needed coffee break and a little look around town. We momentarily lost Maisy and Chloe which was cause for slight panic but were relieved to find they had just slipped off with Sam for a drink and a homemade brownie. Phew! Being told we were in Lord Of The Rings territory, we were all secretly hoping we’d spot a Hobbit though alas, the authentic-looking thatched rooved tourist information centre was the closest we came. Ross, being from the Shire, also offered himself up as a consolation!
Disembarking the coach in Rotorua, true to our warnings, we were nasally assaulted by the distinct smell of rotten eggs from the hydrogen sulphide emissions this city is famous for. We were amazed to see steam emitting from rocks and pools all over the place! It’s quite bizarre! There are geysers, bubbling mud pools and hot thermal springs all around town – the geothermal activity here a big drawcard for tourists. Stories of Japanese tourists climbing fences for photo opportunities and plunging into the boiling water below, never to return, had us all freaked out and imploring the boys to “stick to the paths!”
The afternoon was spent either sleeping or acquainting ourselves with the town. Our accommodation in Rotorua is backpacker-style, atop a citizens club (like a small RSL club). The boys are in dorm rooms, with no adults present. The jury is still out on whether this may or may not be a good idea. I’ll keep you posted on that one!
Tonight we had booked ourselves into a “Cultural Evening”, where we’d learn about the Maori culture, with dinner included. This turned out to be a fantastic night! Our host for the evening, John, wowed us with his knowledge of languages when he could say hello and converse with people from all 12 nations that were represented in the crowd, including Gaelic, Hungarian and Swedish! I might add that one of those “nations” counted in the 12 was Tasmania. Most of the room were actually hailing from Down Under, so when our goofy son put up his hand and falsely declared “I’m actually from Tasmania!” he was met with raucous applause and laughter. Oh Toby.
We were taken outside to see our dinner being cooked in the ‘hangi’ where it had been cooking away underground for 4 hours and 10 minutes in the hot earth. There were chickens, lamb, potatoes and sweet potatoes and we couldn’t wait to sample them all later on! Next we trekked down through a forest, containing silver fern and 600 year-old trees, not unlike American redwoods, to the banks of a little creek. Soon the cold night air was filled with the loud sounds of Maori chants and singing as the tattooed Warriors paddled right past us in their big wooden canoe decorated with feathers and carvings. Ross commented that it looked a bit like a Mardi Gras float!
We were taken back up to a covered outdoor area that had been designed to replicate an ancient Maori village. We were entertained by their history, customs, dancing and singing and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the show! It was then customary for the audience to sing a song back to them and we were lucky enough to have the “Young Singers Of Melbourne”, who happened to be on tour in New Zealand, amongst us in the audience. They stood up and, complete with conductor Mark, launched into the most beautiful rendition of Waltzing Matilda we’d ever heard! In 7 part harmonies, with Maori sung underneath, it was incredible and such a treat to listen to!
As promised, our feast was delectable (and plentiful). The Young Melbourne Singers had their arms twisted to sing us one more amazing song and we capped the night off with a walk amongst the glow worms, taking us past a floodlit bubbling spring, spectacularly clear with swimming rainbow trout. What a great night!
