Rotorua and lake Tikiapu (Blue Lake)
The next day, Wednesday February 15 was Day 17. We got on a bus at 8:30 AM and went to an Agrodome Sheep Show, 2 hours away.
At the Agrodome, we had an opportunity to take a lot of pictures of different sheep. When the show started, we were told about the different breeds of sheep, where they were from, how often they were sheered (1, 2, 3 or 4 times a year) and which were tasty to eat. We also got to see some cows being milked, Australian shepherds herd ducks and sheep, indoors and out and watched a sheep being sheared. It took the woman about 6 or 7 minutes to shear this sheep because she stopped frequently to explain what she was doing. The record for shearing a sheep is 13.8 seconds!
Leaving the Agrodome, we continued on a city tour of Rotorua. It is a smelly kind of city because of all the geo thermal activity but was interesting to see. We learned that the main economic factors of the area are dairy, logging and tourism. We also learned a new term for a person passing away…they turn in their knife and fork…! Also, mountain biking is a big activity here.
Tree planting is done by hand and some how, the rows are always very straight. We heard that planters will work 12 hour days and get paid by the number of trees they plant. The sum we were told is $ .30/tree.
We also learned there are no dangerous wild animals in New Zealand. There are no snakes, alligators or crocodiles. The most dangerous creatures are deer and wild pigs which will all run away from people.
That evening, we went to the Mitai Maori Village for a Hangi and concert. The food was being prepared while we went to the concert. Before entering the meeting house, a “chief” in our group had to ask for permission to enter and then we could all enter. The concert/program was interesting but Dave and I both thought it showed too much violence and wondered if that was the main gist of Maori culture. The Hangi, food prepared under ground, was delicious and well served.
Mangakino, Waitomo Caves
Thursday February 16 was Day 18. We traveled 173 km or 100 miles to Waitomo Top 10 Holiday Park.
Our first stop was to see the Pouakani Totara Tree, an 1800 year old totara tree, the largest of its kind in the world. This wood is the main wood used by Maori in their carvings. We had to walk about 15 minutes along a rainforest path (word used loosely) to get to the tree but the walk was well worth it.
Matamata, Auckland
Friday February 17 was day 20. We left our campground by 8:30, driving 306 km to our next campground, Orewa Beach Top 10 Holiday Park in Orewa.
Our first activity of the day was a tour of the Hobiton movie set, where parts of “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbits” were filmed. Along the way, at 9:30 AM, we came upon an alcohol enforcement check. Dave was one of the lucky people pulled over for a breathalizer. Of course he passed!
This is “the shire”. Dave and I had not been familiar with these movies so we had watched the first “Rings” movie at Jane’s house in December. I am so glad we did.
We had to get on a bus where we had a very energetic and lively tour guide. The bus played a film to introduce us to the tour. The first part was the opening scene from “Rings”. Our guide, Hailey told us that this set was used for the first 15 minutes of “Rings”. It was build on a working sheep farm owned by the Alexander family. One son is currently in involved in farming; the other with the tourism of Hobbiton. After the movie was completed, in true movie business style, the set was destroyed. However, it was needed again for a 5 minutes segment of “The Hobbits” so was rebuilt, this time in a more permanent way.
We continued for a couple of hours, seeing all of the small hobbit houses. The tour ended with a free drink of choice at The Green Dragon. We dressed up in period clothing for some pictures.
We continued to see slips (mud slides) and downed trees as we continued toward our campground. We passed through Auckland on the way. I took some pictures of the harbor, city skyline and traffic but we will return to Auckland, so not much more to say at this time except the traffic was awful. We got to the edge of the city about 3:00 PM and it took about 2 1/2 hours to get through the city.
