5th Day in New Zealand

Me after finishing the Zorb zig zag track.
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We got to sleep in for the first time and we didn't leave until 9:00am. Today was an action packed day. We started by going to a sheep farm show called the Agrodome. There were nineteen different type of sheep and they all looked very different. They sheared a sheep, milked a cow, and fed lambs on stage. They also had the two types of sheep dogs that they use to herd sheep. One just stares at the sheep and moves to direct the sheep, while the other one barks and it very noisey. It was pretty cool when the dogs ran on the backs of the sheep and then they just sat on top of them barking. Then we went to an activity called Zorbing, which is a huge plastic bubble with a smaller bubble inside it where passenger ride on a trip down the steep hill. They also fill the inside bubble with water so you get completely drenched. The first trip I did a double with Jason, an american from Ohio. We both got into the bubble and were sent down the hill. We both kept trying to stand up, but we would end up just taking each other out and falling into the water at the bottom of the bubble. Next I did the single that goes on the zig zag course, so as soon as you are standing up and going one direction it would hit the corner and flip you back the other direction. It was alot of fun, but I was really tired when I finally got to the bottom. After Zorbing we headed to the luge track. We took the Skyline Gondola to the top of the hill that overlooks Rotorua. We got helmet, a sled, and luged down the track. We took a chairlift back to the top and the second run we decided to race to the bottom. There were about eight of us racing and there was alot of crashing and pushing each other off the track. The good part was that we didn't allow the tour manager, Brendan, to win, because everyone was trying to crash him off the road. Next we stopped at the most photographed buliding in New Zealand and the Rachel Spring which is hot spring which is just below 212 degrees F. We then stopped at Te Puia which is the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institue. We learned about Maori culture and crafts and watched a tradition Maori welcome ceremony. There was also largest geyser in the Southern hemisphere called Pohutu Geyser and the Ngamokaiakoko Mudpools. They had a Kiwi bird house, but the only two birds I saw were both sleeping. Then we finally headed to the Kiwi Paka-yha in Rotorua to get our rooms. They had a hot mineral pool which was about 100 degree F, but it was the size of a normal swimming pool. The thing about Rotorua is that the entire city smells of rotten eggs, because of thermal vents releasing sulphur fumes. For dinner we went to the Lake Plaza Hotel for a Maori feast called Hangi and a Maori performance. The Hangi takes about six hours to prepare and about four hours to cook. The food is cooked underground using hot stones. They did the Maori welcome ceremony called the powhiri, then the girls did the poi (ball on a string) dance, and the guys learned the Haka (a war dance). The Maori men would bulge their eyes and stink their tongues out to be intimidating to other Maori warriors. After dinner everyone headed back to the Kiwi Paka-yha for some drinks at the bar there. The dollar bet was introduced, but really never did much, just a few good laughes.

Then we went to an activity called Zorbing, which is a huge plastic bubble with a smaller bubble inside it where passenger ride on a trip down the steep hill.