New Zealand, Rotorua, Auckland, Days 22, 23, and 24

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Friday November 18, Rotorua

For the first time during our trip we both had plans to do something different. Jim made arrangements to go fly fishing with a guide for the day and Lisa was planning to spend the day at the villa for an in-room spa day, relaxing and reading a good book. Jim booked the day with John Hamill who is a local guide who knows the local streams, rivers, and lakes when it comes to trout fishing. Jim gets picked up around 8:30 AM and travels about 1.5 hours to the Waitahanui river. Trout fishing in New Zealand is world famous for big fish so Jim is looking forward to landing the big one. After arriving at the river Jim and the guide gear up with waders, fly rods, and other gear and hit the water. The river is spring fed so the water is gin clear. John is an expert in sighting the fish in the water and advising how to present the fly. Jim is a little rusty in his casting abilities so the first few fish he casted to were not impressed and soon swam to safer waters. John was patient and provided some instruction on how to properly present a fly to a waiting fish. After three hours of casting and instruction Jim finally hooked a large trout about 28 inches long but within about 30 seconds the fish was able to fight enough to release the hook and swam away, partly due to operator error as Jim is not used to hooking such a big fish and allowing it to take line before reeling in. We took a break for lunch and then hit the water again. The wind was picking up which made casting very difficult but we could see large trout in the river but they were just not biting. Mid afternoon Jim hooked another good sized trout but yet again the fish spit the hook. The proverbial story of the one that got away. Even without landing a trophy trout the scenery was beautiful and John was a patient and helpful guide. We ended the day on the tailgate of his truck sipping a dram of Glenmorangie single malt and a good piece of dark chocolate. John felt bad we got skunked but overall it was a great day on the water. Oh yea, Lisa had a good day relaxing as well.

Saturday November 19, Rotorua

We had one full day left in Rotorua so we decided to take in some of the local attractions. Our fist stop was the Living Thermal Village at Whakarewarewa, (say that fast three times), where Maori people live among the thermal springs and depend on the springs for bathing, cooking, and heating their homes. Close to the village are two geysers that erupt every day at regular intervals and put on a good show. One of Jim's favorites was the boiling mud as it made interesting patterns in the mud. We attended a tribal performance with traditional song and dance and learned about the history and culture of the Maori people. As we left the village there is a bridge that crosses a small river and Maori children swimming in the water asking the tourists to throw coins in the water so they can dive after them. Jim took out a handful of coins and tossed them into the river and the kids soon disappeared under the water.

After our visit to the village Lisa read about the blue and green lakes close by so we drove to see both lakes, yes one was blue and the other green but nothing special. However we could imagine the activity during the summer months. It was a bit windy today as it has been during our trip. After a short drive along the lake we headed back to Rotorua to have lunch. Jim remembered seeing a small brewery on the main road through town. We sat outside and enjoyed a Pale Ale which was very good. The restaurant was called Brew but the small brewery was called Crouchers. Overall we have been impressed with the quality of beer. We decided to once again make dinner back at our apartment knowing this would be our last night in our large comfortable apartment.

Sunday November 20, Rotorua to Auckland

We packed up our stuff, loaded the car, and headed north to Auckland around 10:30 AM. This was one place we really did not want to leave as it really was a home away from home. However we focused on the new adventure ahead and moved on. Jim had a map of New Zealand cheese makers so we programmed the GPS to take us to a small cheese making facility called Over the Moon in Putaruru. We drove about 9 kilometer off the main road and found the store but it was closed and would not open until 1:00 PM. It was about 11:30 AM so we decided to continue north to Auckland. On our way we came across a small town called Tirau which is a small artists community. What caught our eye was the use of corrugated steel siding used to make two buildings, one in the shape of a sheep and the other like a dog. There was a Tshirt with a graphic of the buildings and the text on the shirt was Ewe Mongrel. Other shops in town also had artwork on top of their buildings made of the same material. We continued north and the next thing we were looking for was another cheese factory in the town of Matamata called the Kaimai cheese factory. We stopped for a visit and Jim bought some creamy blue cheese to enjoy later. We got back on the road and after about two hours on two lane roads we were on a three land motorway south of Auckland. Good thing it was Sunday as we heard traffic during the week can be bad. Lisa entered the address into the GPS for out hotel in Auckland and we followed the directions until we realized we were on Hobson Drive instead of Hobson Street. At least this time is was operator error instead of the GPS steering us astray. We were in a suburb of Auckland but about 10 kilometers short of our destination. After reprogramming the GPS we were headed in the right direction. We heard there was a world class triathlon on Sunday with a lot of roads closed in downtown Auckland but we were able to make it to our hotel without any problems. The front desk of the hotel did not have our reservation in their system even though we had a confirmation number so they put us in the executive suite and promised to honor the rates we reserved.

After checking in we walked downtown and came across the route for the triathlon so we found a spot to observe the race. The swimming portion of the triathalon had already been completed before we came on scene. The men were racing on bikes through the course and then we watched the running portion as well. Since NZ had 4 of the top 5 positions, the crowds were going wild throughout the course. Long story short a kiwi ended up winning the race and the crowd went crazy. Lisa was wondering if the athletes went back to their rooms and passed out after a physically exhausting event.

After the race was over we wandered until we found a small beer bar Jim read about in a back alley and ordered a pint. We then walked up hill to find Shakespeare Hotel and Brewery close to our hotel. Among the large beer selection only one house made beer was on tap, a pale ale so we ordered two. Big surprise here, only $5 NZ per pint which is a good deal since most other beers are $9 to $10. We were getting hungry so we decided to check out the viaduct area of the wharf which was renovated a few years back for the Americas Cup Race. We opted for an Italian restaurant which was a good choice as the food we ordered was very good. Lisa got her answer to the question whether the athletes went to their rooms and passed out. The 3 USA athletes came into the restaurant and they ate plenty! We headed back to the hotel for a whisky and rest up for the next day.

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Photos

Waitahanui River
Shot by Jim standing in the middle of the river looking upstream

Kids in the river
These are the kids asking for tourists to throw coins in the river