Hi. It's been a week since we've blogged so I'll hit the highlights. We flew to Auckland, New Zealand. Our first snag was a cab driver who had only been in the city for 15 days and barely spoke English. He had trouble getting us to our hotel but did call someone for help. He was very nice but still charged us $84. We don't know if that's fair or not. Anyway, the Best Western which was medium priced was not even medium quality. So we moved to a better hotel at the same price with breakfast included. Much better. It was a suggestion from a travel agent who booked a couple of day tours for us. It has rained a lot since we've been in Auckland. Our first full day here we just wandered around in the rain and our moods matched the weather. It made us appreciate the sun all the more the next afternoon. While it was raining I suggested we each get a tattoo so Gary said he would get one if I did. Well, he called my bluff because you all know I hate needles. Just a bit of sarcastic humor.
We went on an awesome tour on Sunday to several places. First we went to an Agrodome, basically a big farm. We saw ostriches, deer, sheep, alpacas, cows, bulls. One black and white cow had a black heart shape on her side. It was so cute. We saw some Scottish cows that were black except for what looked like a white blanket wrapped all around their middles. They had long fur, about 3 or 4 inches. Our guide let people get off the tractor-pulled vehicle we were riding in to feed some of the animals. Gary did it but I stayed put. Our guide also took us to see a sheep sheared and to feel the wool. Stinky but amazing. We then saw a wool carding machine that was 106 old that had been imported from England. They explained all the processes the wool goes through to make yarn. I kept thinking of all the people I know who knit and would have enjoyed seeing this part of the tour. Then, of course, we ended up in the gift shop where they sold items made with wool, alpaca and possum yarn. NZ has been overrun with possums so they used the fur for yarn and say it makes the wool softer. A pair of possum socks were $43. Crazy!
We traveled on to the Waitomo caves where we went into the cave, saw the beautiful formation of stalagtites and stalagmites and then rode in boats for a short way in the dark where we saw glow worms on the ceiling of the caves. They were like a thousand points of blue lights and were really incredible. I'll spare you the details of the life span, what they eat, etc. unless you really want to know. Now the childrens' song "Shine, little glow worm, glimmer, glimmer" takes on new meaning for me. We arrived at the cathedral part of the cave and were asked to sing to hear the acoustics. I suggested we sing "Twinkle, twinkle little star" and it was really appropriate because the guide then turned out the light and we could see some more glow worms at the pinnacle of the cathedral. Awesome!
We then traveled to Rotorua to see Te Puia Maori concert. Maori are the native people of New Zealand and descend from the Polynesian people from the other South Pacific Islands. In the 1830s the British arrived and the island life changed. We saw a welcoming ceremony by the Maori people and then were invited to enter their meeting house which was incredibly decorated with weaving and tiki carvings, each having special meaning. The Maori then gave a beautiful concert of singing and dancing. I took a special interest in learning about the Maori as I am also interested in the native peoples of our country. A guide told us that all NZ children learn the history of the Maori in school, not just the Maori children.
Yesterday we went on another tour where we saw the meeting house and the area where many Maori chiefs and the British signed a treaty in 1840 to share the resources of the country and live in peace. That is a very shortened version.
We also took an afternoon boat ride where we saw a whale and her baby as well as a pod of dolphins. Some people were prepared to swim with the dolphins but the dolphins kept swimming away from us. It was really fun the watch the whales and dolphins. It was also a beautiful day for which we were very grateful.
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