ZORB!

I stayed in Rotorua a second night which gave me a full day to check out some of the local tourist activities. The one I wanted to do most was Zorbing. So I hooked up early with Eyal and Shirley (an Israeli couple I met on the bus) to head out to the Agrodome. A small local entertainment complex based on the local agricultural industry. Since it's original conception it seems to have been over taken by various rides and activities that have nothing to do with farming.

Zorbing is simple. It's a giant inflatable plastic ball with a smaller ball inside. They put you and maybe a friend, add some water to eliminate friction and then push you down a hill. It sounds more violent than it is. It's just hilariously fun. It's a bit pricey for what it is but Eyal and I couldn't resist a second ride. The first one we did together, the second time he went with Shirley who was nervous and I took the "Zig Zag" track which through you around a little more so you have to go solo. It was great.

We had just missed a shuttle which only ran once an hour so we walked over to the sheep sheering show down the road at the Agrodome proper, but it was only twice a day and we didn't want to wait till the 3pm show, but while figuring that out and getting some lunch we missed another shuttle. A few mix ups and misread/misunderstood bus schedules later we finally got down the road to a local gondola attraction that goes to a mountain top view and luge track. Not Olympic luge mind you but a small plastic go cart that is gravity driven down a hillside track. That took up a good chunk of the afternoon.

Afterwards we did much better with the shuttle and arrived at the Government Gardens. It's a beautiful park with a bowling green which includes amongst other things the Rotorua Museum of Art & History. It's a small museum with some good Maori stuff and a not bad video (cheesy special effects) mixing the real history of the North Island, the thermal and volcanic activity, and the Maori legends that surround it. Shirley and Eyal were not so into it so they took off and I rejoined them later at the "world famous" Polynesian Spa. It's a spa with mineral hot baths that come from the local thermal vent but have to be cooled before people can use them. The water original comes out of the vent at over 200°C.

That pretty much wrapped it up for us and we headed back to the hostel. By the way Eyal was the guy who was out "chief" for the Hangi the night before so when we came across our shuttle drive we stopped and chatted for a bit. The driver was a super friendly guy, but it was late so it was off to bed for all of us.