The mission to the Land of the Long White Cloud

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So I’ve been back at home for a week or so and there’s been an emergency. My sister moved to New Zealand a month or so earlier and things didn’t really go as planned so a rescue / extraction operation was in order.<span><span>Being the only one in the family with a current passport, I was assigned the mission. So the mission was to infiltrate the land of the long white cloud, locate my sister, take collection, and evacuate immediately. Like hell!!! If I’m heading to New Zealand I’m at least booking a few nights to have a bit of a holiday whilst I’m there :-).

So anyway, after a flight to Cairns, 8 hour stopover, then a flight to Auckland, New Zealand which is only like a 2 hour flight but because of the time zones my watch told me I’d had 8 hours sleep, liar!! This is gunna hurt. So I hire a car and head south to the district of Taranaki where my sister is living. The country-side over here is really amazing, took me by surprise really. I knew NZ had rolling green hills but I didn’t realise it was the whole country, the hills just kept rolling and rolling and rolling, it’s really pretty. So after a 6 hour drive, I picked her and 80kgs worth of her stuff and we headed off again. The extraction went rather smoothly actually :-). So next stop, Rotorua.

So by the time we got there it was dark and I was knackered to it was an early one for everyone. The next morning after much convincing, we went white water rafting. After practically having to drag my sister out there, once we got in the water she was having a great time, and it really was a lot of fun, couple of grade 4 rapids even :-). I think her oar only touched the water about three times ha ha ha but nevertheless.

The rest of that day saw a visit to the thermal baths, and a few drinks at a really cool backpackers pub called ‘Lava’ I think. The next day saw us take an extreme 4WD trip, which was only like a 20 minute joy ride and was actually kinda expensive but the rig was awesome, independent front and rear steering so you really can fly sideways at 80kms, and the driver was soooo good. Then it was off to the Zorbing that I’d heard so much about in Austria. And yeah, it really does live up to its name, it’s massive! And such a lot of fun we did the water and the dry, and loved it, although you stand up in the one in Austria which I think is actually a bit better, but it was awesome all the same, even if it was ridiculously expensive. In fact New Zealand in general is a really expensive place to visit, especially if you’re looking to do the touristy stuff.



On our last night there we decided to do a bit of Maori cultural stuff, and went on a tour of a Maori village / cultural centre area followed by a dinner. The village was Te Puia Maori Village, and this was honestly the absolute highlight of New Zealand and perhaps one of my top highlights anywhere. The tour of the village was really good. Tales of Maori genealogy, traditional wood carvings, <span> gurgling mud pools, and spectacular geysers and a lot of history on the Whakarewarewa area. And the dinner, well the dinner was absolutely incredible.<span> They begin by selecting a tribal leader (who just so happened to be me on this occasion) then I had to approach the tribe in that area in a offering of peace. It sounds cheesy but it was really authentic, the tribe looked and acted the part and the host was really serious when he was directing me, I was actually kinda scared. Then it was a great night of traditional song and dancing, and of course, they taught the men the Haka (which was just a little cheesy but great all the same). Then came the Maori feast, which was some amazingly cooked roast meats and vegies, cooked in an authentic ‘hangi’ on the hot geothermal rocks, and a seafood banquet like I’ve never seen before. Honestly for the $100 the dinner cost I would have eaten more than my $100 worth of food that night, it was so great I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so well. After dinner we all went back out to the thermal fields and watched the geysers erupt under lights, then sitting on the warm rocks, with a hot cup of coco (which felt soooo good on a night that was maybe 10 degrees outside), they told a few stories of their culture. <span> For anyone going to Rotorua or New Zealand in general I would highly recommend this experience, you will not forget it, I would recommend the Te Pō Combo which gives you the afternoon tour and evening cultural experience, it really was one of the most unique experiences of my life.

The next day we made the trek back to Auckland with all of my sister’s worldly possessions for the flight back home and back to the real world.

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