Rotorua day 1

we arrived in Rotorua & quickly came upon a Zorbing facility... ( google this one & know this is one of my "big 4 to do's" while in NZ. I passed on the first place & pulled into the second one we came to... They call it "ogo-ing"... & created & manufacture their own balls. (www.ogo.co.nz)
W/ very little hesitation I signed up & paid the fee, changed into some "wet clothes" & headed up the hill for a fun adventure!!

See this ball below- I'm in the center of it!! ;)


I laughed out loud from the time they zippered me into the ball w/ a few gallons of nice warm water till the time my ball stopped rolling at the bottom! *FUN*


Here I've landed & being unzippered...


Out I came - feet first!!


I came out smiling saying, " oh my God that was SO MUCH FUN!!!!"



Dry clothes & onto downtown Rotorua... I had been warned, but nothing can truly prepare you for the SMELL of this city!! It reeks of sulfur ... ( it's a geo- thermal hot bed of activity)


A bit hard to see but in this park we walked thru there is literally steam rising from the ground, water boiling ( as in this pic) ....



& mud burping up from the Earth!!


But the smell...ugh!!

Okay Madelyn, Lauren & Marshall here are your pictures for the day: :) ( animals found in New Zealand)

New Zealand Gray Duck mama & 3 babies...



We see these everywhere!! On the left is mama ( a pukeko bird), & on right is her (fuzzy) baby, not quite feathered out yet.



Pair of Black swans... ( found in Asia & New Zealand)



Lesley...this is for you, I know you'd love these glasses as much as I did!! :)




We met up w- Scott's friends as I mentioned in previous post, Noel & Debbie.. ( NZ falconers), falconers were JUST licensed in NZ, these two are pioneers of the sport here... They were THRILLED to meet & talk birds w/ Scott!!
Here is Noel & Scott doing "bird talk"...while Debbie kindly made us, "cottage pie" ( aka. Shepard's pie)


I, bored of bird talk, found a friend, Max.. ( don't be jealous Frannie- I love you more!!) but Max is a cutie...(Sarah.. Fox terrier & jack Russell mix adopted...) :)



We did enjoy some of Deb's namesake wine after dinner, then enjoyed a free spot in the driveway for our camper van & a warm shower inside in the a.m!!




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Location:Paradise Valley Rd,Ngongotaha Valley,New Zealand

Catch up!!

Being on "holiday" w/ so much happening, I've not been able to keep up w/ posting all my pics!!
So this post is an attempt at that while Scott drives us from Pirongia to Rotorau.
The beauty of this blogging app I downloaded for $2.99 is that I can prepare these posts ahead of time & publish when we get a free wifi connection.




We continue to laugh that we're speaking English here, but clearly some new words! (trundler=grocery cart) & yes that's our ghetto van ( they are Russian Bubushka dolls) lol!




Another grocery store pic, I LOVE going into the store, so much to discover!! Here are the eggs- note NO REFRIGERATION!! We know this from our chickens at home, but proof here...!!

These are from when we stayed w/ our friends, the Fergusons, in Papamoa Beach... Behind there home are these beautiful hills, Appropriately named, the Papamoa Hills. It is a short (trek) as they call it here, but steep...









We then went to visit a place called, Kiwi 360, a visitors center celebrating the kiwi industry.


Yeah, that's me!! We actually climbed inside this big fruit & caught a peek from the viewing spot on top!!



This is how kiwis grow, kind of like grapes.



Scott finds a hedgehog!!

We check into Somersal & meet our hosts, Jenny & John, both 4th generation Kiwis. Their retirement ( from farming), is having this b&b, which they have thoroughly restored inside & have created stunning gardens & landscaping only a true gardener could appreciate.






I continue to chase after the sheep! They never let me get too close!! ( this one lives at Somersal where we stayed & got married). John keeps 4 cows & 7 sheep on the b&b property (15 acres) after farming a huge family farm his whole life.

The eve before our wedding we treated ourselves to a lovely meal at Fahrenheit in the nearby town, Te Awemutu. We are still perplexed by why it's called Fahrenheit, as they measure temps in Celsius here! :) but delish just the same!!


Drinking NZ wine in NZ is super fun!



Now Mainers- THAT'S a mussel!!

Our wedding day started w/ me giving Scott a fantastic wedding day gift, (note button "kiss me I'm Irish!") lol!!

Then some fishing...



Then off to do the tourist thing... ( Waikato glow worm caves)
Here is a Maori carving to protect all that go into the caves...



Not such good pics of us exiting these cool caves ( no pics inside allowed).... Dad.. You would NOT have enjoyed this! :)










We tried to visit a petting farm ( in hopes I'd get to kiss or hold a sheep... We found no sheep & instead found a baby donkey in our way... I had to pull its rope ro move the donkey out of the way so we could leave to get "back" for our wedding!! Lol!!



While there we saw a pair of ostriches.... ( Madelyn, Lauren & Marshall this is for you...) :)






Okay... Then we got MARRIED!!! :) here's a few peeks!!










Then out to dinner... At Churchills in Te Awamutu ( closest big town)


We enjoyed kangaroo "rump" for an app... Delish!!!


We enjoyed a wonderful conversation w/ nearby table... A couple that had moved here 10 years ago from England...
As you can see in pic below, we hated our meals ( lamb & vegetable risotto....)


The restaurant treated us to champagne & dessert! & the kind couple next to us unbeknown to us treated us to our meal!!! So cool! We plan to "pay it forward"!



We said goodbye Sun a.m. To Somersal & Jenny & John & headed off to adventures in Rotorua....

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March 17th..
A.m.
Scott's wedding day desire, catch a giant NZ trout.... Off we went to find a stream...



( you know I'm marrying him for his dressing style!) lol!!

I settled in on the bank of the river & read & sunned for an hour+ while he waded up & down the stream...



When done ( no fish caught)... We came across a small group of Maori children coming down for a swim, the little five year old girl let Scott know in her adorable accent, " your not going to catch anything but roooks here!" lol!!! From the mouth of babes, & SO RIGHT!!


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Mr.& Mrs.

& so it's official... We tied the knot!!! A beautiful day, a beautiful ceremony & a Mr. & Mrs.!!!



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Location:McClure St,Pirongia,New Zealand

Friday-march 16th

we woke early this am to a nice warm shower & cup of real coffee (for me) at Paul & Maura's in Papamoa Beach ( east coast), we said our goodbyes & drove 2 hrs west to Te Awamatu, the closest courthouse to where we are marrying & picked up ( lifted up-as they say it here) our marriage license....we then met, Margaret, our Wedding Celebrant (JP) at her home nearby & went over our ceremony...
We stopped to smell the roses



At the local park ( while Scott scanned the stream for trout)...
&
We treated ourselves to our first lunch out since arriving .. It was delish!!


I am sitting on the side of the road while Scott has jumped the fence at this farm to fish a stream he spied... At home he is always searching the trees & sky for birds, here it's a stream! :)


I am sitting beside the quintessential NZ scenery, bee hives stacked in a field, a ton of sheep & green as far as your eye can see...



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Location:McClure St,Pirongia,New Zealand

Wonderful friends

So much fun meeting the Fergusons!! & their friends, Tony & Eleanor!!!









( BBQ'ing Tuatuas).... (our steamers but so much sweeter...No butter needed!!)

Such wonderful hospitality!!!

Stevie- these are for you: ( yes we got your maluka honey!! We went to http://www.comvita.co.nz/ known for its healing properties!!












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Location:Simpson Rd,,New Zealand