3rd and 4th day in New Zealand

The big trout the fisherman caught in Rotorua by the resort.
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So its been a couple days since we updated this.  We're learning that getting internet access in New Zealand isn't as easy as just popping into a coffee shop that has Wi-Fi.  Also, you can't really make a phone call here either without paying for it, even if it is local.   Some motels even tell you that you have to pay to call a 1-800 number.  All the businesses, including motels will charge you for any phone call, because they say it costs them money.  Next time I meet a Kiwi (New Zealander) in the States I'm going to ask them about that...  But now we got a wireless internet access thing for the day and it works at several cafe's in the city here in Auckland.  So to get us caught up...

One of the thermal pools at the Thermal Wonderland.
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If you're wondering how meeting was, I'm sure it would've been wonderful, but we ended up not making it.  It was only our 2nd day here and our body clocks weren't quite adjusted here.  When its 7pm here, its midnight in Oregon.  So when meeting time rolled around, we were bushed.  We'll for sure find the hall at our next destination, Cairns, Australia and send pics of the friends there and let you know how it goes.

3rd and 4th day in New Zealand

A phenomenon that occurs to plants at the Thermal Wonderland. Its an orange algea like substance that destroys the chlorophyll in the plants, eliminating the normal green color and replacing it with the orange.
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Day before yesterday we didn't do much, Mahn had an attack of the gout and we ended up needing to find a doc for some meds because he could hardly walk.  We found one and he got some meds and now he's all fixed up, ready for the 10K run.

Yesterday we had a fun day.  In the morning we walked around the resort and enjoyed all the birds in the area.  We met a fisherman who caught a rainbow trout right in front of us.  It was probably about 24 inches long, definitely the biggest trout we'd ever seen.  We'll upload the picture after this...  Then we drove from Rotorua to Auckland.  On the way, we stoped at the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland.  It was really cool, although very stinky.  We had noticed that the town of Rotorua had a sulpher-y smell to it, and sometimes it was worse than others.  Well when the wind is coming from the direction of the Thermal Wonderland area, its worse. The thermal wonderland is basically a volcanic dome that has a lot of thermal activity and geysers.  So, lots of pools, with steam and various colors in them, from yellow to bright green to reds due to the chemicals in the water - and very pungent!  Whoo-eee, even 12 1/2 years of being married to Mahn couldn't have prepared me for such a smell!  Anyway, it was very interesting that it all occurs naturally, and it was a very nice hike to see the whole thing.

One of the huge thermal pools at the Thermal Wonderland.
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Last night we stayed in what is probably one of the worst Comfort Inns on the face of the planet.  Lets just say we wanted to go to sleep, then wake up, and get out of there.  Mahn thinks it should be named Critter's Inn instead of Comfort Inn.  In the end, it wasn't that big of a deal that it wasn't very nice because we had driven all day and just crashed anyway.  And it was $60, what do you expect...  So we're bumming around Auckland today, killing time until we catch our flight to Cairns, Australia at 7pm.

The biggest thermal pool at Thermal Wonderland. For some perspective, that's Mahn on the right side operating the video camera.
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Our overall impression of New Zealand is the people are very nice.  We've been lost a couple of times and we've gotten a lot of help with directions.  Mahn says that driving on the left side of the road must be unnatural because people tend to hug edge of the road, like they really want to be on the right side.  Oh ya, and for the hunters out there...  They consider deer to be a pest here, they even poison them to try to get rid of them.  So you don't need any deer tag or hunting license here, the government is thrilled if you kill as many as you want.  The landscape here is beautiful, lots and lots of wildlife.  And a ton of cows and sheep.

The huge lake at the end of the Thermal Wonderland. Its a bright, almost neon green. We were wondering if anything can live in it...
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Well I guess its time to close up here and upload some pics.  We just had our breakfast of cappucino, croissant sandwich and morrocan lamb sandwich.  I'm sure in a couple of hours we'll be famished and have some brunch and another cappucino...