Tales from the South Pacific, July 13-29, 2011 - Page 7 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Monday, July 18 We Depart Fiji and Arrive in New Zealand
I got up a bit early (hard to believe, I know) and prepared to depart. I made my way to the reception area where we conducted passport inspection. This was to ensure that everyone knew where their passport was before departing the hotel. For example, having to physically show your passport to your group leader eliminated the possibility of leaving it in the resort room safe.
We carted our bags to the dock and were ferried across. The bags followed shortly thereafter. We had to find our bags and see them loaded / help load them on the bus before we got on and sat down. I know this all sounds pretty regimented, but it was well worth it to not have bags left behind.
We made our way to the airport (#6) and got our bags from under the bus. We cleared Immigration and Security and then headed upstairs to the gate.
We boarded a 737--Sue and I were in row 27 and we thought at first that Debbye would sit with us, but this time she managed to shift back and sit with Mick. Once we took off, breakfast was served and since I had been hacking a bit off and on, I was very grateful for two cups of hot tea. I could taste some of the food: small Apple danish, pineapple muffin, water, fresh fruit, and mango yogurt.
We landed on time in Auckland, NZ (airport #7), and proceeded to clear Customs and Biosecurity. For the latter they scan your bag for suspicious looking stuff--the purpose is to protect the country from invasive species, disease, etc. I had a spare pair of shoes in a pocket of my bag and they stopped me and questioned me about them. I found out very quickly that it was because they thought they might be hiking shoes (in which case they would have been inspected and probably treated), but they were fine when I told them they were just a spare pair.
Sladj collected and changed money for those who needed such--this turned out to be a great service because one transaction went so much faster than a dozen, and she could hand the amounts back during the drive to Rotorua.
Sue's sunglasses picked this point in time to break, but it was okay because we scouted out a new pair in the airport before we went outside to meet up with Harry (our driver) and our motor coach (which was an absolute palace).
About a half hour from the airport we stopped at a Service Center for lunch--there was a bakery and a number of other eating places. Sue and I took Sladj's suggestion and went to the bakery for meat pies. I had a beef and oyster pie, of which I could taste a bit. I could certainly tell the wonderful texture of the pastry!
The drive to Rotorua was lovely. We traveled through verdant green countryside that reminded me a bit of Southwest Virginia: rolling hills with mountains in the background.
Typical countryside along our route from Auckland to Rotorua.
We found out that one of the reasons everything was so green was because they had just had ten days of rain! Yikes! I'm so glad that was over.
While the countryside reminded me of Virginia, there were some differences, both overt and subtle. There were trees and long, long hedges that looked like they had been trimmed with lasers. I kid you not. Of course, there were sheep (there are more sheep than human inhabitants). And practically all the houses had tile or metal roofs--I only saw one that had shingles.
We came upon a very, very large cow sculpture and one almost normal sized, whereupon Sue said, "Oh, look! There's a Holstein and a Halfstein!"
[Were you wondering why we get along so well?]
Rotorua is geothermally active, so there is a pervasive sulfur smell (if your sense of smell is working--see how things work out?). We arrived in good time at the Sudima Hotel.
Sudima Hotel, Rotorua, NZ.
We disgorged, collected our baggage and went through the checking in ritual. I got my key and headed upstairs to see the room.
Some of the room amenities.
Bathroom.
One of three beds. I only really needed one.
The other beds.
View back towards the entrance.
It was a nice sized room, nothing fancy, but it served.
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Glad your sense of taste is returning! The sky in the first photo of New Zealand is so dramatic and beautiful. Great timing to arrive just after a long period of rain. Everything looks beautiful. Yes, you and Sue both have the knack of the perfect pun at the perfect moment! Three beds in the hotel room-- looks like it would have been a bit crowded if all were in use, but I guess they cater to groups and people appreciate the savings. The accumulation of airports is getting a bit crazy! The trip's only just begun.
When my husband went to New Zealand he said it rained all but one of the ten days he was there. It was beautiful, just wet! I'm glad to see you have arrived and can't wait to hear about your adventures!
Now about this cow sculpture - I don't see any photos of it?
Sadly, no. I had forgotten the incident until I went back to my journal. It was one of those things that we passed quickly on the road, and because we were not expecting it and did not have the camera ready there is no picture.
I loved visiting New Zealand and would love to go back to see other parts of the country.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Glad your sense of taste is returning! The sky in the first photo of New Zealand is so dramatic and beautiful. Great timing to arrive just after a long period of rain. Everything looks beautiful. Yes, you and Sue both have the knack of the perfect pun at the perfect moment! Three beds in the hotel room-- looks like it would have been a bit crowded if all were in use, but I guess they cater to groups and people appreciate the savings. The accumulation of airports is getting a bit crazy! The trip's only just begun.
Because neither Bob nor someone else I knew was going along on the trip with whom I was willing to share a room, I paid the single supplement and had a room to myself. It was a good thing about this time because of the congestion.
Our weather timing was not quite as good when we got to Sydney but it all worked out, and that's a story for another day, anyway!
There were many groups at the Sudima, and a number of them attended the Hangi Feast with us this evening.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily
When my husband went to New Zealand he said it rained all but one of the ten days he was there. It was beautiful, just wet! I'm glad to see you have arrived and can't wait to hear about your adventures!
We had nice weather, but as I will relate before long, it was winter in New Zealand!
Monday, July 18 Hanging with the Maori at the Hangi Feast.
[The "a" in Hangi is pronounced more as if it was an "o".]
I mentioned in the last post that Rotorua is geothermally active. The Hangi Feast has food that is cooked in a pit using the geothermal steam and heat. The feast was followed by a Maori concert with song and dance. This was very much like a Hawaiian luau.
I couldn't halfway taste the food--probably partly because they don't go for a lot of spice in their traditional cooking. But I enjoyed it anyway. There were many dishes on the buffet and I didn't make notes, but there were a number of salads, fish and pork, vegetables, bread, and fresh fruit.
We were sitting off to the side of the large room, so the angle didn't help a lot with the picture taking.
The master of ceremonies. Maori tattoos display family and ancestry information.
Sometimes the men and women danced together, sometimes not.
The white blurs are fuzzy balls at the two ends of a cord. The women did a lot of movements with these. I did not want to take flash pictures, so they came out blurred, though many times that's actually the way they looked because they moved them so quickly.
Dancing and Singing at the Maori Concert.
Audience participation--the women attempt some of the simpler dance moves with the balls on the cords.
The men get into the act.Over half were from our tour group.
Okay, I know someone will ask why I didn't join in, and the reason is that I had my moment of notoriety in the Kava Ceremony, so I figured others could do this. Well, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!
The Maori stick out their tongues and make fierce faces to intimidate their enemies. I wish this was a sharper picture, but I have to include it. Some of our guys did a great job!
The Maori equivalent of "Don't be messin' with me, sucka!"
As you can probably tell, a good time was had by all. The venue at the hotel wasn't much to speak of, but the quality of the entertainment more than compensated.
Wake up tomorrow is a gift--7:00 AM with breakfast at 7:30 and departure at 8:30 for our Duck Tour. It will be chilly--just how cold we would definitely find out!
I had a dickens of a time getting to sleep because of the sinus drainage, but I grabbed all four pillows to elevate my head and then did much better. I was still taking Sudafed as often as the directions allowed.
Coming Up: Baby, It's Cold Outside and Quack Like a Duck!
__________________
"&Larry"
A beautiful day in the neighborhood!
Last edited by LLaffinPlace; 06-30-2012 at 11:05 AM..
Love the tribal dancing. I have a pic of my husband doing that and I love it! He was there about the same time of year you were. They went repelling and it was very cold! Then he came back here to 90 degree weather. It was a bit if a shock!
The Hangi Feast looks most interesting. There's something about Maori culture that I've always found very moving and beautiful. Brings to mind the beautiful movie "Whale Rider".
I'm sad you had to leave Fiji, but I'm loving the New Zealand experience so far! The "scary faces" picture is hilarious, and it looks like everyone is having such a great time. I just hope your nose gets itself sorted out quickly!
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