the first game it was the girls against the guys, except for danielle and sam switched, and everyones names were funnily spelled (by the asian people at the desk, not the boys being funny as we first thought). like linnell was lenne, danielle was daniella, barret was barren, ej was bj, and i was sarita, which is how most people spell it. linnell won our first game and then sam and danielle switched, since she had barely made it into double digits and the boys were doing somewhat better than us, and i won the second game on the girls side. barret was trying to mess people up all game, and he and the other boys were quite violent with lucy, and then after the games, linnell and i were standing near the big video game machines, and ollie and barret were wrestling for some reason he later tried to explain to us, and they were coming toward us and i got worried and tried to run, but linnell was not quick enough to move so i couldn't move and i got run over/into the game, which started to tip over. i was very scared i was going to get two fully grown boys on me as well, but luckily none of those things fell on me and all that got hurt was my ankle temporarily, but it was funny and i was okay, and everyone yelled at them for traumatizing me.
when we walked outside (via the stairs rather than the dodgy elevator) we saw a random shopping cart (or trolley as they call them here) on the ground, and ej gave linnell a very scary ride in that that involved going out in the street, and when they tried to go up the little rampy part back onto the sidewalk it tipped over, sending linnell rolling into the street (laughing). fortunately there were no cars (although a police man had been nearby earlier and had stopped and said something to the boys who were ahead of us. it turns out they had done something else obnoxious and the police man didn't care about the shopping cart). they then abandoned the cart in the street, so danielle got it for them, and we all went to burger king. linnell and i pilfered other people's fries and then lucy, ej, danielle, brian, linnell and i walked home together (everyone else got a ride with sam who has a car), again linnell arguing with brian about how to get home. we ended up going the longest way home, but it was okay. it was 1:30ish i think when we got home and we had to get up at 7 to get the car, so we went to bed asap.
in the morning, i slept through our alarm and linnell kept pushing sleep on it, so we ended up getting the car around 9 which worried me but it was fine. we also had found a coupon for a free gift from the car rental company which i reminded linnell to give them when she got the car, and it ended up being a bottle of wine! (odd combination with a rental car which you will presumably be driving, yes?) we got on the road, and i wanted to stop at the otara market again because i had seen a $2 ring there last week which i wanted to get as my souvenir for myself, but i had wanted to wait and see what else i would want so i didn't get it last week. we stopped at the market and were worried i wouldn't find it, but it was like the 3rd booth we walked by which was fantastic. we walked around quickly looking for good deals on the green stone necklace for me to get linnell, but the prices weren't great, so i decided to wait.
we kept driving, stopping in matamata (aka hobbiton) for a pbj lunch and toilet break. we got to the zorbing place just outside rotorua in the early afternoon. the building looked like a trailer in someone's driveway, but when we went in we signed in on computers and stuff and it was more professional looking. after we signed in, we went and talked to the guy at the desk who asked if we were twins (the 10000th person here to ask that) and then we went and got our bathing suits on, because we couldn't do the suspended one because of wind levels or something, so we were doing the one where you go in together with warm water. we decided to both wear those white v neck tee shirts that we both have as we were apparently twins, although serita refused to do the no pants dance and insisted on wearing her capris as well). and since they recommended socks to prevent any toenail rippage, we wore 2 of the 3 pairs of socks we had for the trip. we went back in and got in the van and a guy drove us to the top of the mountain. when we got there, he had us put our toes in this pool "to test if it was warm enough to have in our zorbing ball" and it was freezing which worried me. he got one of the balls for us and had us go in a hole, head first. i went first and it was really warm water so it was fine. linnell penguined in as well and he told us we could try running if we wanted or just sit and enjoy. the ball really isn't as clear as we were expecting, you could see colors outside but definitely not shapes. we took off down the mountain and tried running, and succeeded for about 5 seconds. then we slipped and slid around the inside of the ball and into each other. i couldn't really control where my legs were going and it was just lots of fun. it seemed so much longer than when you watch other people go! when we got out of the ball at the bottom, there was a guy taking our pictures and we decided to put on dry clothes and then look and see if the pictures were good enough to buy. we changed (with only one towel for both of us which was a bit annoying) and then we went and waited by the photo desk. the guy there also asked if we were twins ha ha. we looked at the photos, and i really liked them, but it was 25 dollars for them, and since i owe linnell more money than i put in her account after this weekend, we decided not to get them.
we left and went down the road to Ngongotaha mountain, where linnell had read you could hike to the top and then luge down for 9 dollars. that seemed worth it, until we got there and discovered that contrary to the brocure, there were no scenic walking paths at all and the only way to the top was the $29 gondola. lame as. instead we went to the rotorua i sight (nz information centers) and looked for things to do, and then went to our microtel. the owners were really nice and they gave us a room with just one set of bunk beds so we were all by ourselves in the room, sharing the showers and toilets with several other tiny rooms in kind of a suite.
we had driven past a park with some thermal springs that are due to the earth's crust being very thin in this area, so the rocks in the ground are super hot from being so close to the earth's core, so they make the water and mud boil, giving off (very smelly) steam. so we walked back to those and investigated that. the whole town smells like sulfur pretty badly, but you get used to it for the most part. we looked at the bubbling/steaming mud pools which was super cool (there was some pretty big bubbling-ness) and took pictures, and then we found a really fun play ground (we've decided play grounds here are more cool than at home because they're more dangerous. they just have cooler toys). it had this really high spider web sort of thing made out of rope which we each took a turn climbing to the top. linnell had a fright when a little kid started jumping on the bottom while she was at the top, causing a lot of shaking. then we went over to a club rugby game that was nearby because we heard people drumming on the way over there and wanted to investigate that as well. it turned out to be a group of asian high schoolers sitting in a circle in a parking lot doing some sort of traditional drumming. it was pretty sweet as. then we went to the game and watched for a while and discussed how wimpy our football players are compared to the rugby players here. they are much more violent and have no padding at all.
after a while we walked back to our hostel and then drove the secret spot, because it was close by and free and i really wanted to go experience it. when we got there our bathing suits were still wet and therefore freezing so we changed extremely quickly in the middle of the road (it was a pretty low traffic road). then we went a tiny bit into the woods and there was the secret spot! (for those of you who don't remember what it is, it's where a cold river and a hot river meet, and so there is every temperature water that you want all in one.) we went in and and there were 3 guys that we approximated to be our age, and 2 old guys, and then another old guy who it turns out was completely naked. despite that, it was still super super cool and we sat in the varying degrees of water until it was pretty dark out. i was very scared of getting the water on my head because linnell told me some disease lives in the warm water (amoebal meningitis, but that's a risk in all natural hot springs). the naked guy kept putting his head under water deliberately, which made me dislike him more. linnell said people bring candles and put them in the holes of the rock walls, and i wished we had that. we ended up talking to the our ageish boys for a little while after everyone including the naked guy left. it turns out they were year 13 in college (high school) so that means they were approximately 17.
we decided to go after a while and we drove back and showered quickly and then walked to burger fuel! i had heard very very good things about their huge burgers and their kumara fries, but i had noooo idea what i was in for. linnell and i shared one of each and the fries were AMAZING especially with the aioli and the burger was delicioussss. on the way over there, we had walked by a gelato shop, and we decided to stop there on the way back. initially we set our price limit at 2 dollars, but somehow convinced ourselves that 3.70 for 2 scoops (the smallest size) was reasonable. that was also delicious, and both was worth every cent. we walked back to our hostel and went in the common room, which was a kitchen with some chairs and tables, and a big tv on the wall but no couch which the owners had warned us about because they had just ordered it and it had not arrived yet. linnell pretended to work on her homework, and we watched the end of "the holiday" and then "chasing liberty" came on!! (it is one of my favorite corny movies) i got very excited so we watched that while our feet pretty much froze off. while we were watching, a sketchy guy came in smelling quite a bit like alcohol, but left soon thankfully and we questioned whether or not he was staying at the hostel ha ha. when the movie was over, we went back to our room and stole some duvets from the empty room next door, so we each had two, and turned up the heat, and went to sleep very soon.
in the morning we woke up to a very hot room which was fantastic, and we hurriedly got ready because we realized we had to be at the waitomo caves 15 minutes earlier than we thought, and we had to drive for two hours to get there. we left and drove for a while, with me navigating the sketchy directions/map/roads for linnell. none of those things lined up with each other, and we turned onto a dirt road. it was EXTREMELY windey, with no people/houses, and we drove on it for a long time before we finally found an old guy on a four wheeler, who was lacking some teeth. as we pulled up, he informed us that he had 'just fell a tree up the road' so we might or might not be able to get thru. when we asked where the road actually lead he listed off some places, none of which were on our list of places on the way to waitomo. he did tell us how to get back to the main road to waitomo, which as it turns out was quite a ways back. when we were finally back on route, it was 10:15 which was when we were supposed to be in waitomo, but when we finally got some phone reception and called they said we could come on the tour at noon instead. we took a potty break in otrohanga, which i think is the town the hot pool boys warned us was rough, but seemed fine, and when we got to waitomo we were like an hour early, so we ate some lunch of pbj/luna bars/fruit flats, and basked in sun until it was time (by basked in the sun serita means sat in the car because she was a wimp and it was too cold out for her).
we went in and our tour group consisted of 3 our age guys from london, 3 our age girls from germany, two adult men, and an oldish american couple, plus our two guides. our guides were a guy named shannon, who at first we thought was like jokingish mean/sarcastic but he may or may not have been joking, and a girl named snappy, who had a carabiner as an earring, and just looked the epitome of hippy/hiker girl, but she was much nicer. we changed into our gear which consisted of our bathing suit, wet suit bootie sock things, a wet suit overalls, a fleece polypro shirt, a wet suit jacket, gum boots, and a helmet. the wet suit overalls were extremely difficult to put on, and we were lagging behind the rest of the group.
when we were finally all outfitted, we drove in a van to a little river place and since we were black water rafting, we each picked a tube (like an intertube) that our bum could fit through when we bent over. i couldn't decide which one to get so i ended up with a quite large one that later got stuck in some of the narrower passages, leading to the guides having to unstick me. shannon took us these docks on the side of the river and told us we were going to practice jumping off them backwards with our tubes on, to simulate how we were going to jump off the waterfalls. there was a higher platform which shannon joked about us jumping off, and because i'm gullible, and the first one to go, i was all ready to jump off that one, until it turned out we were jumping off the one that was like a foot above the water. we all jumped and i got soaked with my (ice cold) splash, and then we just climbed out of the water and rode in the van (which was a very cozy fit with 12 people and 12 tubes) a little farther up the road to the entrance to the caves.
when we were finally all outfitted, we drove in a van to a little river place and since we were black water rafting, we each picked a tube (like an intertube) that our bum could fit through when we bent over. i couldn't decide which one to get so i ended up with a quite large one that later got stuck in some of the narrower passages, leading to the guides having to unstick me. shannon took us these docks on the side of the river and told us we were going to practice jumping off them backwards with our tubes on, to simulate how we were going to jump off the waterfalls. there was a higher platform which shannon joked about us jumping off, and because i'm gullible, and the first one to go, i was all ready to jump off that one, until it turned out we were jumping off the one that was like a foot above the water. we all jumped and i got soaked with my (ice cold) splash, and then we just climbed out of the water and rode in the van (which was a very cozy fit with 12 people and 12 tubes) a little farther up the road to the entrance to the caves.
we started out by walking on slippery rocks and shannon kept hurrying us which was not fun. then we got into the water which was absolutely freezing, and we walked and rafted for a while down the caves. the walls were sharp, and since our hands were so cold it felt like every time you touched the wall to push off, you got cut, but our hands aren't cut now so it's okay. a ways in we stopped and looked at the glow worms which was really cool. they are actually a larva, which eat their siblings which then glow in the form of feces in their intestines, and lures other insects toward it, and they then get caught in the sticky stringy stuff they dangle below the roof of the cave. after awhile the worms turn into some sort of fly that only lives a couple days and has no mouth or digestive system, so their whole goal is to lay a bunch of eggs, which hatch into larva and the first few eat the others, and so on.
shannon passed us chocolate fish, which are like easter marshmallow stuff in chocolate, they were delicious. i was first in line as we left that part of the cave, and snappy showed me with her flash light a baby eel. it was so cool. we kept rafting/walking/jumping off water falls. at one point we did this thing where we're in a straight line and hold the person behind us' feet, so we're all connected and don't have to paddle or anything. it's called the eel, and it was both of our favorite points because we just kind of floated along and weren't hurried or having to push off of sharp rocks or anything.
shannon passed us chocolate fish, which are like easter marshmallow stuff in chocolate, they were delicious. i was first in line as we left that part of the cave, and snappy showed me with her flash light a baby eel. it was so cool. we kept rafting/walking/jumping off water falls. at one point we did this thing where we're in a straight line and hold the person behind us' feet, so we're all connected and don't have to paddle or anything. it's called the eel, and it was both of our favorite points because we just kind of floated along and weren't hurried or having to push off of sharp rocks or anything.
a little before the end, they told us to turn off our head lamps and we "played a game called find your own way out of the caves in the dark". it wasn't too hard, because the glow-worms on the ceiling showed the path of the river, only i was the first person in the line (well the two people before me were super fast and i didn't see where they went) so i was basically leading us, and i'm a very slow paddler it turns out, so i was feeling very rushed. we got out safely and were all incredibly freezing. we drove back and got all our gear off and then i got in the advertised hot showers, which turned out to be freezing cold showers. linnell went out to the car to get comfy pants (and stealthily left her polypro fleece in the car because we need them for kayaking and her polypro got lost at roll training). we got dressed quite quickly, and then went in and had our included soup and bagel which were delicioussssss and warm! we also nabbed another bagel for our ride home, and then headed out (with serita's fleece stashed in our stuff as well. i feel slightly guilty for being a klepto, but i'm planning on giving the fleeces to someone else who is going blackwater rafting so they can return them after we're done with kayaking. it's more borrowing than stealing, and for $95 each i don't feel too terrible).
the car was nice and warm and i was suddenly quite sleepy, so i napped a bit while linnell drove. we stopped and got gas in otara and hoped the digital gas meter would still read full when we got to the car rental place, and as linnell was saying "okay let's try to save gas as much as we can" she got back on the motorway in the wrong direction ha ha. she was quite angry with herself, but we made it with the car still on the full bar, so we were fine. we were a bit angry about how much gas cost (we ended up spending $80 this weekend on gas. we are up to $2/liter so i don't want to hear whining about $4/gallon!) but it's okay. we left the car at the rental place, and we walked up the steep hill to ih, eating our bagel. when we got back, we ate a little dinner (or a lot, whatever) and then took showers and did laundry. then i packed stuff i didn't need this week and some of linnell's stuff to bring home, and organized what we were going to need for camping next weekend. then we went to the ih dvd library and were going to get the movie "one were warriors" which is apparently a classic nz movie, but they didn't have it as linnell had promised me, so we got whale rider and independence day instead and now linnell's watching whale rider because she needs it for a linguistics project, and i'm doing this/listening to that.
(this is actually getting posted on tuesday, after we have been to roll training and motat, but that will be in another post)
tootles
(this is actually getting posted on tuesday, after we have been to roll training and motat, but that will be in another post)
tootles
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