In My Wildest Dreams

Somebody pinch me...

Okay, really... I'm going to try to update you about my weekend trip to Rotorua as succinctly as possible (and for those of you who know me well, that is going to be quite a challenge--me being the champion of making a short story long...). Anyway... we left on Friday morning. No problems driving. Only missed a couple of minor head on collisions, but pulled ourselves out of it. These blasted roundabouts are a killer. I'll take a pic of one and post it for those who are not familiar with them. But, we made it to Sarah's host dad's brother-in-law's (second cousin's uncle's father-in-law's sister's... no, really--only kidding) house right in town. There's a pic there in the collage (love this new photo manager program by Google, btw, Picasa--download it if you haven't already; it's free--sorry, Bill!). Nice deck--we watched their pets all weekend in exchange for a free place to stay. Had my own room w/ pics of all the latest hearthrobs posted on the walls--clearly the room of a pre-teen!

The first night we went and made reservations for our (gasp) spa treatments at one of the top 10 spas in the world, Polynesian Spas. Then, we went out, got dinner, and went to a little pub to hear a live cover band and (try) to meet some locals. Got good and giddy on ginger beers (100% non-alcoholic--Sarah's not a real big drinker, either) and danced a bit before calling it a night around 12.

Then, Saturday I got up and went for a run. Tried to take the dog, but he preferred to try to eat the leash rather than run with it. Then we went and ate breakfast at Shirley's (don't call me Shirley--lol!), and then stopped by the tattoo parlor (no, Mom, not what you think) to ask for info on some of the better tourist sites. Ended up jotting down their instructions but totally ignored them completely and went to Waimangu Valley, home of Tamaku volcano and dozens of hot springs. So--all those pics in the collage that look steamy--they are! The steam is from magma that is a little too close to the Earth's crust and heats the water. It is literally scorching hot. Could not even put my big toe in the streams (and you know how hot I like my baths! Okay, well, maybe you don't, but I like them nearly scalding, you see?)... Basically, New Zealand is right where the IndoAustralian tectonic plate meets the Pacific plate and Rotorua is right there on top of a subduction zone--where the Pacific plate goes under the IA plate and the result is that spurts of magma rise up through the Earth's crust (or just under it), causing volcanic eruptions and/or hot springs. There you go. A little geography lesson. And that all makes for some VERY HOT water.

That night, we went to the Mitai hangi. The Mitai are a Maori family that live in Rotorua. They (for a heftly little price, but it's all good) invite you to their land and cook dinner for you. So the pic you see of those potatoes on the ground, etc--that's what we ate. They are being roasted atop of a fire pit. Before dinner, we went to one of their tents and watched them perform some traditional Maori rituals. We learned a lot about their customs and culture. Was really amazing. The chief had tattoos all over his legs and buttocks (well, they don't have a need for briefs, 'kay?) that apparently took over 55 hours. That's really not bad b/c apparently the tattooing custom used to be such that they cut you open, insert the ink, and then continue to recut you as you are healing. Only the strong and brave can withstand the pain. You don't say... Anyway, then we went back and ate dinner--roast chicken, lamb, stuffing, yams, potatoes, curry egg salad (yeah, that's not exactly traditional), etc. All you can eat so we did. And then some! We sat at a table next to a couple from Melbourne, Australia. They were in their late 70's and such little lovebirds. Sarah asked them how long they'd been married and they said, "We're not! We're living in sin!" HA! So cute... "LIfe begins at 70," says the woman. Well, I have a lot to look forward to, then...

After that long day, we were absolutely "stuffed" (as the Kiwis say), so we called it a night. Then, Sunday, we went for our "spa treatments" and sat in heated mineral lakes all day. I had an Aix massage, which is where the therapist massages you under several shower heads, so you are essentially massaged both by the shower heads and the massage therapist. Yeah... not too shabby.

Sunday night we met the family who had lent us the house for the weekend. They were very nice and I picked their brains a bit about politics and the system of government here. There are essentially two major parties that control Parliament and the liberal Labour party has been in slim majority for the past few terms--highly unusual, apparently. Anyway, hope the States might follow that trend in the coming election... I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Today we went to the Art and History museum before we left and I picked up a book on Maori culture, since, as you know, most of my students are Maori. Well, that's it for now. Think I covered the major points of the trip.

Love you all,
Sara

posted by Sara @ 8:15 PM