On to New Zealand

Auckland
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Now that we’re in New Zealand, there seems to be a lack of internet connections at our hotels. This may cause some delays in reporting our exploits.

Day 17:

New day, new country. After 2+ weeks in Australia, we’ve moved on to New Zealand. Again, flying in, all we saw was green, and it hit 60 here with no rain, so so far so good! We flew in over amazingly beautiful terrain. First the waves breaking against the shore, then shades of brilliant green, from dark forests to bright fields up and down the steep hills and deep valleys dotted with isolated farms.  It was completely different from anything we’d seen in Australia so we knew that we were in new territory. We seem to have lucked out in the hotel department. We got a great deal on a suite, complete with kitchen and washer and dryer, and a view of the city. Cathy just loves doing laundry again, right honey? Oh yeah. Though there is something to be said for having the laundry in our own suite in a beautiful hotel rather than the local Laundromat. We got in late in the afternoon, so only had time to walk around at dusk and look for a place for dinner. Took a look at the Skytower, Auckland’s 1000 foot observation tower, but decided not to go up and take the 600 foot base jump off the top. I begged and begged to do it, of course, but Gary didn’t want to.  These New Zealanders will do anything for a thrill! We found a nice little Belgian pub on a funky little street and had a good Belgian meal. Auckland is an attractive city, but I sort of miss Sydney! Time to move on; tomorrow will be something completely different as we head for Rotorooter – lame joke; it’s actually Rotorua.

A long way from home
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Day 18:

We wake up today to see stories on TV, radio, and in the papers about Lamont’s victory over Lieberman in the CT democratic primary. Small world! I think everyone’s hoping this will start a move for withdrawal from Iraq. That’s big news here too because many Australians and New Zealanders are in harm’s way there.

It was a beautiful but chilly day in NZ. We started out driving to an extinct volcano overlooking Auckland for a panoramic view of the area. New Zealand only has 4.1 million people, and the majority are in Auckland. It’s also the 35^th most expensive place to live in the world, but a beautiful one that, next to Sydney, would be a great place to live. Actually, I’ll have to live in NZ and visit Sydney regularly (“not so many ghastly creatures.) That 35^th most expensive is a little daunting, but for all I know, Sydney is 34^th.

Site seeing in New Zealand
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We then took off driving to Rotorua. NZ looked decisively different than Australia – actually today it looked more like Pennsylvania, with rolling hills, highways with service areas, and lots of farming. We ate lunch at an English pub (best bangers and mash since England!), and found our motel room actually overlooks hot springs, bubbling mud pools, and steaming vents. Since everyone who visits NZ wants to see the thermal areas and experience something of the Maori culture, this area is a tourism capital. It basically exists to provide services for travelers. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – we all have to stay somewhere – but it’s a little hard to select between the venues to try to find the most authentic and informative. You’re never quite sure that someone didn’t put a fence around a mudhole and set up a ticket booth. So I hope what we choose to experience will teach us something about the area and the people.

New Zealand or Pennsylvania?
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The sulphur odor everywhere might bother some people, but those of us whose fathers dragged them to Sioux City, SD, in their tender years to experience the meat packing industry were unfazed. Sulphur is nothing too offal.

We ended the day by taking a gondola up a local mountain (hill) and luging down it. Cathy too! A bit cold, but we had our mittens!

Trusty Steve keeping us on course
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Financial note: The Aussies and Kiwis have the right monetary ideas. They have no pennies, and every price already includes tax (GST). So what you see is what you pay, and there are no 99-cents and all those pennies to deal with. Makes transactions much easier.

Gas in NZ is $1.75/liter, which comes out to US $3.96. How much are you paying?