Flying, Action and Culture

I’ve been in New Zealand for a little more than a week now and I have done quite a bit.

First off, I just wanted to mention that I traveled on the Emirates Airline for the first time in my life and now I am an Emirates lover. I heard that they got a lot of service awards and I wasn’t the least bit disappointed. Tons of legroom, bag storage, and the meal service was divine. Normally I am accustomed to a 4-course meal in business class, but in economy I was actually full! Not normal for most airlines, but I would have to rate it even higher than Cathay Pacific and maybe… almost… Singapore airlines. Not only that, but the stewardesses, had to wear these hats that had veils that came across just like what Barbara Eden had to wear in ‘I dream of Genie’.

I landed in Auckland a little jetlagged, but excited and went to a hostel within the city. It wasn’t as bad as I would have thought. I was immediately put in a dorm room with 3 other guys (gotta like those odds!). That’s where I met David - another guy from England. I spent a lot of my time just hanging out and getting my bearings and checking out what this ‘City of Sails’ has to offer. To be really honest, I’d been here before and it’s just like most major cities and I was looking forward to getting out of here. I did et a chance to check out the Maritime Museum, Sky Tower and a few bars, but really I just reveled in the little bit of culture shock I was having after spending some time in a crazy city like Bangkok. The hostel realized after a night that they had put me in a boy dorm and they ended up moving me to a room with 3 other Irish girls. They were a lot of fun to listen to and they were really funny. They put me straight on the situation with the Irish guys and now I know how lucky we have it in Canada with the way our guys are. I was trying to convince them that they need to come to our fair country and try out the guys we have to offer and it sounds like they may actually take me up on the challenge. You Canadian boys will be in a lot of trouble… these ladies are wicked.

David and I headed to Rotorua after a couple of days to head to the ‘cultural capital’ of New Zealand. It is apparently so touristy that it is affectionately called RotoVegas. I didn’t notice too much, maybe because I live in ‘VicVegas”. For the few people that may not be aware of this, New Zealand is known for their thrill seeking activities. The Bungy Jump, Sledge and various other adrenaline sports are all here. David and I headed to the Agrodome where we bought the 4gasm pass that gave us entry to the Swoop (a 10 metre free fall where you then swing for a while), the Free Fall (think skydiving without jumping out of a plane), the Agrojet (this is like being in a race car, only it’s a speed boat going about 100/mph) and our favorite by a landslide… the Zorb! Now, the Zorb is a inflated round, plastic ball where you jump in and either get strapped in or they dump water into it. Then…you roll down a hill. You have to push it around like a hamster ball, but once it gets going, it is like a waterslide. So much fun!

I also checked out the Rotorua museum which used to be a health spa in the early turn of the century and now it’s a museum that houses their history display as well as art. It was fantastic and very interesting. Crazy what rich people used to do back in the day… get into a bath tub full of water and get subjected to electro-shock therapy all for the sake of wellness.

I also checked out a few of their other sites, but my favorite touristy thing I did was go to the Mitai cultural performance. That is where we are picked up by shuttle at 6 and then taken to this place where they serve a traditional hangi and then the Maori’s give us a performance and we get to learn about their culture. It really was the best $75 I have spent so far. A hangi is a dinner that is cooked in the earth on top of coals. We were served the most amazing food I have had since being on my travels. The dinner alone was worth my money. And I had for my first time – lamb. I loved it!!!

Anyways, I am off to the North part of the Island to do some diving and sailing. I will post pics here when I get a chance, unfortunately, internet in NZ is really expensive and loading pics up would take forever.

Kisses…..