New Zealand Day 10

Day 10 Rotorua

The water rafting company called us and told us the water levels are above the safety limit and there is no water rafting for today. So we planned for other activities in Rotorua, famous for its thermal activities.

Our first stop is at Tehokowhitu-A-Tu, a Mauri tribe open for tourists as there are many hot springs and geysers within the vicinity. The entrance fee is NZ$20 and a tour guide was bringing us around the tribe.


At the entrance


Water vapour enveloped the tribe and it was like we were in the clouds


Hot geysers in the background

After our tour around the tribe full of thermal activity, we were brought to a small hall as there would be a Mauri tribal performance. There were 7 performers and they sang, danced and performed several tricks like tossing of sticks and twirling of the soft white balls. They also taught the audience some Mauri dance steps after the performance.


Mauri Tribe performance


The show lasted around 30 minutes and we took photos with 2 of the performers after that.

We then visited the souvenir shops and i bought a jar of thermal mud. After a short walk around the tribe, we left promptly as we will be having a farm tour at Agrodome at 1.30 pm. We had lunch at Burger King before going over.



We sat on a large transport tractor vehicle that can bring many people around the large farm.


Feeding ostriches!

Did you notice a puddle near the ostriches? When they heard the cow make a noise, some of them got scared and ran off a short distance, splashing the muddy water at us! I got hit by a glob of mud on my pants. Suay!


Feeding donkeys!

All of us fed many other animals like llamas, sheep and cows. An unlucky caucasian woman accidentally slipped on the slippery grass/mud and her bum landed on some animal shit. Oops! Also, be careful if you are feeding sheep coz some of their shit gets caught in their wool near their backside and if you are surrounded by sheep, chances are that at least one of them rubs their bum on you. Jr was unlucky as he did not 'siam' the sheep backside fast enough and there were some stains on his jeans. He accidentally stepped on some poo as well. Oops x 2!

After our interesting and eventfully dirty farm tour, we cleaned our shoes at the washing area before going to the famous sheep show.


We can see many different types of sheep on the labels and the host was shearing wool from a sheep. There were many koreans (around 200) in the Agrodome and i was even mistaken for a Korean when the Korean tour guide spoke to me in Korean language.

When the host asked for volunteers to milk a cow, Jr and Jm went on stage as there were only a few people who volunteered. Next when the host asked for volunteers to feed baby sheep, Jh and i went up onstage.


Baby sheep are really cute!

After the sheep show, we took photos with the sheep and dogs which are responsible for herding the sheep.

Sheep galore

After the farm tour and sheep show, Jh and Jm dropped Jr and i off at The Zorb while they went to the Redwood Forest to get some souvenirs for their friends. A zorb is a large plastic ball where a person is put inside the ball and rolled down a hill. The ride costs NZ$45 for a classic or zig zag ride. The classic ride is just rolling straight down the hill while the zig zag ride follows a zig zag path down the hill.

I decided not to go for it due to budget concerns and i feel that the ride is too short. The roll down the hill takes less than a minute. Anyway, Jr went for it and i took care of his belongings and helped him take several pictures.


At The Zorb


Jr after his zig zag ride down the hill.

While waiting for Jh and Jm to pick us up, we watched other zorbonauts roll down the hill as well as take photos of the surrounding scenery.


Panaromic mode of the scenery outside The Zorb (Everywhere is so beautiful in New Zealand)

After they picked us up, we went back to the motel to clean ourselves up and to wash our dirty clothes. Then i realized one thing, i didn't bring extra pants or jeans but extra bermudas.

So we decided to make our own dinner at the comfortable motel. Jh and Jm went to the supermarket to buy stuff back to cook while Jr and i handled the washing of our dirty clothes. We screwed up a little during the washing as we thought the dryer is the washing machine. Haha... The dryer looked exactly like a washing machine though.

Jh and Jm brought back spaghetti and seafood and our dear chef Junming whipped up really yummy spaghetti. I can still remember the taste.


Seafood spaghetti in tomato sauce.


A close-up shot of the huge mussel. The seafood there is really fresh and the mussel has so much meat. Each of us had 2 servings of spaghetti and our stomachs were satisfied. Mahjong session next....