Rotorua

We will double back to talk about our "tramp" around Lake Waikaremoana (which deserves a good long post) and skip over for a short post about our day in Rotorua. It was, as Katy says, "quainter than it seems." Indeed, it seemed like a small slice of yesteryear in the middle of this century.

We were able to get a better sense of the city thanks to our new friends, Paul and Jos, who picked us up at the hotel for a short tour. After a quick cup of coffee we went driving around. Down by the old bathhouse (which is now a museum) we saw people playing lawn bowling and croquet -- the croquet was actually wonderful to see with the players all wearing red jumpers and sun hats and sitting in little shaded huts while the other team played. All like a picture post card from the 1900s.

The tour continued with a trip around the lakeside (Rotorua's lake is a sulfur hot spring) where the scenery was delightful -- down to and including the lakeside Anglican church with the window looking over the lake. If you knelt in prayer, the window was precisely positioned so that the stained glass Jesus figure was walking on water. Another highlight was the local park where it was "Fairy Day" with dozens of little (and not so little) girl running around with fairy wings on.

After we left Paul and Jos (1000 thanks guys for a great visit) we went into the Polynesian Spa to sit in the sulfur hot tubs and have a much needed massage (after the long 4-day hike boy was it needed).

We finished the day with another great museum -- the new Maori wing of the Rotorua museum was a fantastic introduction to the Maori culture and well worth the time we spent. Between that one and the Te Papa in Wellington, we can definitely say that the New Zealanders have a lot of great ideas about how to make a native culture come alive -- in fact, we only wish that the American Indian museum in DC were as good!

From Rotorua, we left New Zealand behind. It was a long, three-legged hop but we are back in Australia now, in Adelaide, and looking forward to the last leg of our adventure.