Friday morning we left Auckland and set out for our Rotorua holiday. On the way we made a stop at the New Zealand, Henderson, Temple.
This is one of the few temples with out an Angle Moroni on top. The temple workers didn't have a clear answer as to why this part is missing. But they are soon doing some adjustments soon to make it earthquake proof and improve the inside, and there is rumor that they may add an angel to the top.
The temple workers were so sweet to cater to our big group of 16 girls! But it was as beautiful as ever! We also had time to spend at the visitors center.
We headed on and made it to the house we were staying in. Our friend James had family friends that have a large house that were sweet to take all of us in for the next few days. We tried to be gracious guests but we kind of took over the entire house. We unpacked with girls sleeping on the floor, couches, and a few rooms. Heidi and I were lucky enough to get our own room.
That night we hung out, made dinner and enjoyed being together. I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down and talk with my professor, Dr. Jacobs. I really like talking to this man! He reminds me of my dad in some ways because we have some of the most thought provoking, meaningful, thought felt conversations. We are really lucky to have him be the director of our study abroad because I am constantly learning from him.
Saturday morning we got up early so that we could get to the Sheep show an hour early!!! We wanted to be in the front row, and let me tell you that we beat everyone else by a long shot.
The rest of the audience started showing up twenty till. But the front row was well worth it! While we were waiting for the show we got to spend time with the wonderful sheep and animals!
This was the Great Marino! He was the number one sheep of the show. Very lovely guy :)
I got some time to pet the baby lambs!
My great friend Marino and me! We bonded at the show.
During the show we got to learn about all these different varieties of sheep. Who knew there were so many different kinds. We also got to watch a sheep get sheared, dogs heard ducks and climb onto the sheep’s’ backs, baby sheep get feed, and best of all I got to milk a cow!!!
Christine, Me, and Heidi all got chosen for the "Milk the Cow" portion of the show!
Here is the proof that I milked a cow!
I got super excited :) They even gave me a "Certificate of Udderance" afterwards!
Later that day we headed over to the Zorbing course! Zorbing is one of the touristy activities that is a “must do.” This is where 1 to 3 people get driven to the top of a large hill. Then you walk up next to these huge blown up balls. The worker fills up the ball with a little bit of water, which then gets dyed with food coloring. Then the 1 to 3 people slide into the hole in this ball. The hole is zipped up and the ball is pushed down the huge hill. I went in a group with Heidi and Diana. We dyed our water black to intimidate the ball next to us which Anna, Whitney, and Janet where getting into. They let us race another group because there were two tracks down the hill! On the count of three we were off. At the beginning the three in my group tried our best to run/crawl to get our ball to go as fast as possible down the hill. After a few steps we slipped and we were sliding all around as our ball speed quickly down the hill! I felt a bit like a hamster in a cage, but it was So fun!
Here is the Zorbing Track!
Group shot with the ball that we were inside behind us!
After a busy day we were able to take advantage of natural hot sulfur hot tub in the back yard. Now I haven’t quite explained some of their very distinguishing factors of Rotorua. The first thing that many people think of when they hear Rotorua is, rotten eggs. As soon as you drive into town there is a very strong smells that envelopes you. This smell comes from the sulfur from the city. There are gysers, hot springs, and mud baths that are created by the geothermic activity that occurs here. The house that we are staying at as a hot tub in the back that runs completely from the hot water from the ground . All natural! It was so wonderful.
This house had another activity that we took full advantage of, Karaoke! Nicole, Emily, Christine, Heidi, Neeley, and others participated in some “one of a kind” song performances. This kept us entertained for hours.
Sunday we attended a nearby church. It’s such a special spirit that comes with joining a small ward. I have never been a part of such small numbers in any of the wards I’ve attended in California, Idaho, or Utah. The members here are often very unique but they are strong and they rely on each other for a lot of support. The members were very friendly the moment that we walked into the building.
That afternoon we got the chance to walk along the coast of Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand. It was formed from a crater that came about from a massive Volcanic eruption that happened a long time ago.
Monday morning we headed out to Te Puia, a Maori Cultural center. We walked in and attended a special performance a dancing a singing. They asked for audience participation and Dr. Jacobs got to be part of an intense Haka. In fact they made him the chief. Some of the girls and I got to come up onto stage and try out the poi balls. They were a lot harder than I expected them to be. In fact at one point I hit myself in the head with one of them.
After the performance we got a tour of the rest of Te Pauia. He gave us extra details about the Maori culture, trees, animals, and geysers. At one point we got to go into an exhibit that had live Kiwi Birds! This bird is such a huge New Zealand icon but I couldn’t figure out why I hadn’t seen any live ones yet. But as we went into the room our guide explained that Kiwi’s are Nocturnal. Hhhmm this explains why I haven’t seen any running around in the parks during the days. They are also flightless birds that live in the forests. The room was very dark that we went in, but I was still able to see two real life Kiwi Birds!
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