ROTORUA: cold, wet, smells like eggs...

BUT! It's fun as anything!

We took a chartered bus down to Rotorua, a small town in the central North Island of New Zealand. Rotorua is famous for being built around a geothermal hot spot. It's full of geysers, as well as hot springs. Now, with all the sulphur in the area, the first thing you notice is... it smells like eggs.

HOWEVER! It is still a tourist destination. It's set on a picturesque (totally mis-spelled that) lake, and surrounded by mountains and farmland. Upon our arrival we went to our hostel and checked in, and then stumbled around a nearby geothermal park until dinner time. At this park, we found a covered foot bath, filled with naturally heated mineral water. People communally wash their feet in it. It's really cool, and your feet feel happy afterwards (or at least mine did). We grabbed some dinner and then looked for some evening entertainment.
FUN FACT: Rotorua has ZERO nightlife. Eating IS the nightlife. However, we did find a movie theatre, and watched a movie.

We woke up the next morning and left to find a breakfast location. This is when we found Milly's all day breakfast! What a wonderful place! We visited there several times! The food was basic, but really good. From there, we donned our rain gear, and trudged off into the weather (yes, it poured the first two days). We walked around the Rotorua museum where we learned about the history of the town, and about the local culture. After that, we took a nearby path which led us through the lakeside geothermal fields. Despite the rain, it was probably the most beautiful experience I've seen. Being surrounded by white smoking rocks, and thick bubbling mud on a rainy day may sound a bit dull, but I couldn't beleive how in awe I was of this barren landscape. Due to the rain, the Octopus did not have a chance to explore as much.

On the third day, the Octopus, Heather and I took a bus out to Rainbow Springs Wildlife refuge and Kiwi Encounters. It's kinda like a zoo, except that it also displays the native plants of New Zealand. At rainbow Springs they also raise Kiwi eggs. This gives the young birds a 70% better chance at surviving in the wild. I was really impressed with the work they were doing to help strengthen the Kiwi population. Since Kiwi's are a bit photo shy... we took a picture with this giant Kiwi statue...

After visiting the Kiwi's, we took a stroll through the New Zealand Countryside to go ZORBING!
For those who don't know what zorbing is. It's a huge air filled bubble, that they put you inside of, and then roll you down a hill. If this isn't awesome enough... they also put water in it. It's like a waterslide... on spin cycle! The ride lasts maybe a minute at best, but was a blast!

On the final day in Rotorua, we hiked to the Red Wood Forest. I'm always amazed at the natural beauty of Red Woods, and walking through the forest was relaxing. (Kinda the point of the vacation). Of course, Red Woods are HUGE! You need multiple people just to hug them. We then headed back into town, and took a bus back to Auckland.

If you enjoy the diverse beauty of nature, or the rush of Adrenaline, or if you just really like the smell of eggs... Rotorua is a great place to visit. I would go back there... but remember to bring a book or something to read in the evenings!

The Octopus makes some pancakes

So, as you may (or may not) know, it's St. Patrick's day! Which means wearing, thinking, and breathing green! We decided that the best way to celebrate St. Pattie's day, (besides spending the day at the pub), was to make GREEN PANCAKES! So here are the steps to make AWESOME St. Patticakes!

Step 1: Obtain green food coloring.

Step 2: Add drops of green food coloring to regular pancake batter (and by drops I mean LOTS)

Step 3: Mix in food coloring

Step 4: Put mixed batter on a hot frying pan

Step 5: Flip

Step 6: Serve

Step 7: Admire the fact that your eating GREEN PANCAKES!

We hope that everyone had a great St. Pattie's day!

The Octopus is on top of the World!

The Octopus climbed to the top of Mount Eden this weekend! Mt. Eden is in the center of Auckland, and you can see the entire city, and all its suburbs from the top.

It's also a dormant volcanoe. There are many around the Auckland area! It was a fun hike, and we had a great view from the top! At the crater, there is a compass directing the major cities around the world, so we made sure to find home!

The Octopus goes to the Zoo

The Octopus and I (and Heather) really wanted to visit the Auckland Zoo when we arrived in New Zealand. So one sunny day we ventured out and explored the Auckland public transit system!
The Auckland Zoo is located beside a large park, so it seems very out-of-the-way.
The first place we visited was the Kiwi and Tuatara house, as those animals are both native to New Zealand. This was the only photo I could get of a Kiwi (it's a poster, the actual Kiwi encloser is VERY dark) but I did get to see a Tuatara! They can live to be over 100 years old! Another old thing we saw, was tortises! Who enjoy not moving... and taking mud baths!
The diversity of animals at this zoo was amazing. We saw various birds,

big cats,

monkey and oragutans, hippos, rhinos, elephants, and giraffes...

and this pig! Also, the Wandering Octopus made friends with some wandering chickens that follow people around the zoo!

I really enjoyed the Auckland Zoo. It's definitely engaging, the enclosers are large, and the animals looked well taken care of. If you like animals and are in Auckland, the Wandering Octopus highly recommends the Zoo! (and say hi to the chickens for us!)

The Chinese Lantern Festival

The first weekend we were in Auckland, we found out that the Lantern Festival was being held in the park across the street from our dorm. It celelbrated the end of the Chinese New Year, and has become one of the largest lantern festivals in the Pacific region. There were lots of people, food, music, dancing, and of course lights!

the Octopus gets a sense of History

The Octopus and I traveled to the Auckland Museum. It's a bit intimidation, as the building stands on the top of a hill surrounded by fields.



It's quite large as well! The museum consists of three floors: Maori and people of the Pacific, Natural History, and a war memorial.

The Maori history had alot of indiginous carvings, fabrics, jewlery and even a few traditional buildings. The inside of which are very impressive, because they are completey carved and painted in designs from floor to ceiling. The final wings of the first floor showed the history of Auckland culture through furniture... starting with this... and ending with this.
The second floor consisted of a mixture of animals (most of which were not alive), and geological information. We went into a "house" in which they simulated a volcanic eruption in the harbour of Auckland. It was complete with an actual earthquake and breaking furniture! Very fun! I also saw the biggest Sunfish I have laid my eyes on! Of course, once again, it's not real... but it would look GREAT on my wall! There was also a fossil section, where the Wandering Octopus got to see the remains of a very large ancestor!
The third floor was a memorial to the people who fought in the wars, complete with simulated foxholes and an entire gun gallery.
It took us about 4 hours to walk through the whole museum, and even then I'm sure we missed some things! But it was a really fun outing, and I'd look forward to going back.

The Octopus rides on the Sharkbus!

Ok, so on my first day in New Zealand, we spotted this...


After that day, I needed answers! What is this bus? Where does it take you?
The very next day, we caught the bus, and headed to Kelly Tarlton's, the aquarium in Auckland! They are best known for their penguin excusion tour (everyone loves penguins), in a snowcat, and their shark tunnels (unfortunately, the shark pictures didn't turn out... this is the best I can come up with) But, we also had the chance to see a preserved Giant Squid! Which was really cool! The squid was bigger than I was!



The trip was completed by playing in the kids section (hey, they had a cool submarine), and taking one last picture with the SHARKBUS! (AWESOME)