New Zealand 2012 - Day #3

Monday, October 22
We arrived this morning at 8:45am in Auckland.  Flight arrived on time.  We were, however, delayed for 10 minutes at the gate while a representative from their Department of Agriculture came on the plane to spray for a "FLY".  This was interesting.  New Zealand is very protective of their country.  They depend upon their dairy, agriculture, and sheep farming to make the economy work.  Any foreign substance or material brought into the country can affect things.  This is very similar to Antarctica.  I've just never seen this anywhere else in the world.  We also had to have our hiking boots scrubbed with special chemicals as we made our way through customs. 

Things went smoothly at arrival.  We got our checked bags and were succssful in getting our rental car.  (We decided to rent a car each week of our trip -- better accessibility).  We also rented a GPS unit, got some local cash, and were on our way.

Our goal today was to drive to Rotorura - a city roughly 3 hours south of Auckland.  Greg drove (as he has experience driving on the opposite side of the road) and I navigated.   Some general thoughts as we mad our way south:

1) The country of New Zealand has a population of roughly 4 million people.  (Colorado has more).  3 million of these people live on the north island, with over a million in Auckland alone. 

2)  The lane widths and cars themselves are much larger than England or Ireland. 

3)  The road conditions (to this point) have been exceptional.  Everything maintained in a very pristine condition.

4)   New Zealanders have a strong sense of country pride.  Very similar to Ireland in this respect. 

5)  The term "Kiwis" was first set in place with the New Zealand military many years ago.  Their uniforms would have a picture of the Kiwi bird - a flightless bird native to New Zealand.  It is about the size of a chicken, with brown feathers and a long beak.  Legend states that the birds are held with such respect because they cleared the land of worms and insects when no other creature could.  Referring New Zealanders to "Kiwis" is acceptable and respectable.  Just use the plural usage for the people and singular form for the bird.  They had a recent campaigne -- "Kiwis to save the Kiwi".  Also, the small brown fruit -- it's called kiwifruit here.

6)  People have been very inviting and fiendly. 

7)  The further south you get in the country --  the colder it gets (generally speaking).  The north island is closer to the equator.  This is the opposite of the US -- where the northern states are colder than the south.

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Back to our drive south.  We made it to Rotorua about 1:30pm local time on Monday, October 22nd.  We checked into our hotel and decided to crash for about an hour. 

We then headed out to Te Puia -- New Zealand's premier Maori culture center and home of the world famous Pohutu geyser.  This place was great.  Similar to Yellowstone National Park (minus the animals).  We took a train ride around the area - witnessing molted lava beds, shooting geysers, a wood-carving center, and some buildings symbolizing the culture of the Maori people.

The Maori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. The Maori originated with settlers from eastern Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages at some time before 1300 CE.  Over several centuries in isolation, the Polynesian settlers developed a unique culture that became known as the "Maori", with their own language, a rich mythology, distinctive crafts and performing arts.  It's estimated that 10% of New Zealanders are Maori, with 30% of these located in Rotorua. 

After visiting the geothermal park, we took a drive to a high point above Rotorua which offered some great views of the lake and town below.  It offered a tremendous site point and provided an overall feel for the area.

We then went into the main downtown and had some great Indian food for dinner.  By this time, exhaustion had set in.  We called it an early night to catch up on the sleep we did not get the night before on our international plane ride. 

A good first day - more to follow.

 

Mud caked lava fields

 

Lava fields

 

Storage facility for the Maori people

 

 

Pohutu geyser

 

Wood-carving