Yes, I know I'm taking forever to update this... sorry
Part 3 starts off in Rotorua where we all woke up with sore backs and slithered out of our cramped surroundings. Joanne decided that she couldn't take two more nights in the cabin and went to talk to the owners. They were very nice about it all and arranged for us to transfer to another park.
The second place in Rotorua was great. It was big, full of light, comfortable and had a lot of attractions within itself. It was also on a "hot" beach and the owners said that they had a shovel we could borrow if we wanted to go there.
Not understanding them, Joanne said no. After all, we figured that our kids could build sandcastles with their hands.
So anyway, this new place had thermals all over it. You'd just be walking alongside a little creek and hear bubbling. There was also a playground with a pool of boiling mud right next to the slide.
Did I mention that New Zealanders don't really worry too much about safety?
We took a walk down to the beach but to our disappointment, the water wasn't actually warm. We did notice however that the ground was a bit warm and that the deeper you dug, the warmer it got. There were also some massive holes in the sand and I wondered at the time why someone would dig such a big hole but not build a sandcastle - it turns out that people dig holes and sit in them for warmth.
We took the boys to a park in Rotorua and it had lots of great thermals in the middle of it. We'd been planning on going to a proper (commerical) thermal park but the boys were turning feral and didn't show enough interest to justify the cost. Also; once they spotted a big playground in the park, they decided that they just wanted to play.
That night, we had dinner and then went out to the markets. Joanne loves markets and she was expecting to see a lot of "crafty" things. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a food market - and we'd just had a big meal so we weren't hungry.
We wandered around until we found a carnival. Most of it was closed but they had a couple of rides open. The kids went on a "crazy castle" but the highlight of the night was watching a big thrill ride - specifically, watching a young Indian guy wearing a turban. The ride was going quite fast (3Gs apparently) and was spinning upside down. He was panicking a bit because he wanted to hold onto the ride but kept having to grab his turban. I'm sure it was cruel but every time his carriage spun down to the ground level, there was a whole crowd of people laughing their heads off.
Amusingly, since we've been back in Australia, Kaelan has built a working lego model of the ride and has stormtroopers as passengers. I'm very tempted to try to find a Lego Indiana Jones (Temple of Doom) person with a turban for him to play with.
The next morning, we went to Rainbow Springs, which is a kind of Zoo. There, we met a wide variety of animals including "Sally the shoe-eating Swan", who not only liked eating Tristan's shoes but also liked my hand. I offered it a handful of bird/fish food but it preferred fingers.
Also in the Zoo, there was a Kea which is the smartest type of parrot. In particular, there was one called Jenny who was in a cage by herself. Every time we tried to walk away, she cried out "Gav!!!" and I had to keep going back. It was very hard to leave her.
Not to be outdone by my antics with Sally and Jenny, Joanne decided to pick up a chicken. It wandered over while we were feeding the ducks and well, it just looked like it needed a cuddle. Tristan thought it was pretty funny.
There were a few other interesting animals in the Zoo and the fish were great but the Kiwi's looked a bit loony. They were just pacing around and around on the same patches of dirt.
There were a few other interesting animals in the Zoo and the fish were great but the Kiwi's looked a bit loony. They were just pacing around and around on the same patches of dirt.
I told the people at the front desk that their anamatronic Kiwi's just weren't convincing enough and they told us that our tickets were valid for a night visit and that we should come back later.
After another "busy" afternoon which mostly involved washing while the kids played on the swings, we had dinner at the Skyline resturaunt which is at the top of a mountain accessible via a gondola. The kids enjoyed the ride up and down though we had to them to stop rocking it. They also loved choosing their own food and had several large desserts each.
I had a "cupcake" accident there - I was trying to eat a cupcake sized Lemon Meringue Pie when the top started to fall off. I took emergency evasive action and tried to shove the whole thing in my mouth but unfortunately I missed (I must have an eating disorder). The cupcake impacted on my chin and Joanne dissolved into a fit of giggles.
After dinner, we went back town to Rainbow Springs and had another look at the Kiwis. Kaelan asked if he could pick one up but although it was physically possible, we said no. They were certainly more natural looking at night. We also paid Jenny another visit.
Next Up: Waitaki (or something spelt a bit like that).
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