Auckland: City of Sails...and its incredibly smelly neighbor

**firstly, for those still wondering about our passports & papers, there's nothing new. they're still gone. the police have been a-holes about it all. we have no recourse. but i still KNOW in my heart it was roach man. oh well. we're in the process of securing ourselves, and will eventually have all new papers again to properly prove who we are and where we come from.**

Let's get on with the trip. Cuz, honestly once we were there, we forgot about all the crud we had just stepped in back home.

Do you just wish you were sitting on this flight so you could watch the best and most hilarious in-flight entertainment ever? When he woke up, his arms and legs were struggling through the seatbelt thingy's that keep him safe and sound in the bassinet. It was like a mummy coming out of his tomb, only this is what popped up when we moved the harness! A happy Taylor! He reached for the headset so he could get his groove on, grabbed a bikky (short for biscuit--their word for cookie) and turned on the peek-a-boo charm.

For those of you who are super sleuths, you'll notice that this is infact a photo of our return flight to Sydney.

K. I almost forgot. This is a post about New Zealand (aka NZ, pronounced en-zed).

First comes the geography lesson. The country is made up of 3 islands (2 large and one tiny). We spent our first couple days in Auckland, which is an isthmus, made up of about 20 inactive volcanoes. At it's narrowest stretch, the land is only 2km wide. We spent the remainder of our time in Rotorua--3 hour drive, to the center of the north island (on the map, it's where that lake is.)

Fun NZ facts: There are approx 11 sheep for every person in NZ. It is the first country to see the sun rise on any given date. There are more golf courses, yachts and bookstores per capita than anywhere else in the world.

l - r, top to bottom: Matt getting ready to jump off the Sky Tower (the tallest freestanding building in the southern hemishere... yah. everything here is the biggest, best, etc, "in the southern hemishpere"; Matt jumping; Rangitoto-youngest, and largest of Auckland's volcanoes; Hamilton temple; typical NZ landscape (minus all the sheep); view of Auckland from top of One Tree Hill--except there hasn't been a tree since an angry Maori chopped it down; herd of sheep; Taylor loves dogs; me & Tay and some kind of Maori statue.

At Te Puia, where the geysers blow and the mud boils; a really long Maori word; the sacred and sybolic fern leaf--this coiled leaf symbol is used constantly in Maori art, and to represent NZ; Matt & I, wet, after the ZORB ride; Matt, sliding out of the Zorb canal; decorated fence posts; Entrance to Te Puia

Rotorua was a giant rotten egg. Just walking around town, there are these sulpher-steaming holes in the ground. The bigger holes are roped off. Somehow Matt adjusted to the scent and within 10 minutes claimed there was no odor... not the case for me. I spent the first few hours checking Tay for a poopy diaper, but finally realized it wasn't him. I loved the hot springs, the boiling mud and it's totally cool designs, the geysers and colorful mineral deposits on the rocks. If only I had a clothespin or something for my nose.

I'll tell you about the Zorb. It's a plastic ball within another larger ball. These guys take you to the top of the hill in their 4x4. You can choose the straight track, or the zigzag. You dive into the ball through a small tunnel, and they give you a shove! We chose to the ball with water, and loved it. It was hilarious. I don't even think the ball was going very fast, but you are thrown all around inside. I'll post the video footage later. The ZORB was invented here, as was bungy-jumping. Apparently the Kiwis have creative minds...and a bit of time on their hands with not much to do.

At Te Puia there is a Maori Arts program. They teach wood carving and barley weaving. The art is stunning. I love the repeating patterns, and all the wood carvings. I also love the song and dance. There is a "Maori village" set up--it is very similar to the one at the PCC in Oahu, called Aotearea (Maori name for New Zealand); at Mitai-- our Hangi (earth oven) dinner and haka (warrior chant); Maori warrior dances & canoeing--this warrior described the significance of his butt & thighs tatoos (strong waves of the ocean, etc)

Princes Gate Hotel - Rotorua

I set up this lovely accomodation (not sure how I got this job--I don't even like renting a DVD for fear it's gonna be a dud.) Apparently, 4 stars in NZ isn't equivalent to 4 stars in the US. It wasn't that bad--just kind of funny. Like, look at our door handle. You'd think this was where all the elves, dwarfs and hobbits stayed while filming Lord of the Rings.

It was perfect for our little hobbit. And, check out the key! Not a nice little credit card swiper one. It may as well have said TOILET KEY-PLEASE RETURN TO TEACHER on that big wooden key chain.

All in all, we loved New Zealand, and can't wait to return :) It is definitely a place that is beautiful, has lots to do, and the US dollar is a little stronger there, so you don't feel so ripped off all the time, like in Sydney!