Day 12

06-18-96

Brisbane - Brisbane?

UNEXPECTED STUFF!

We woke up in the morning an went downtown to shop. There was a big old plaza that was like an outside mall. It was really cool. I actually got to go to a real music store. There was lots of neat stores- tourist traps, head shops, everything. We returned to the hotel to pack up for our journey and then loaded it up on the bus to arrive at the airport and learn that a volcano had erupted in New Zealand and we couldn't fly there that evening as planned. We all rejoiced that something interesting and unplanned had happened, and we got to head back to a nicer hotel and spend the night there. We ate a mediocre dinner at the hotel. We were going to go swimming, but the leaders told us to go to bed. Me and my roommate got into a wet towel fight. I still have a bruise on my arm.

Day 13

06-19-96

Brisbane - Auckland, Take 2

We got up early and once again went through the drill of loading our stuff into the bus. We drove to the airport again, said good-bye to Jodi and Bernie, and then waited for two hours in the airport. There was a bookstore, so I was okay, but some people were bored out of their minds. Finally we boarded the plane.

The plane ride was cool because instead of a movie, they showed an episode of Seinfeld. That's pretty cool. The plane ride took about two hours, and was uneventful. We arrived in Auckland, New Zealand in the late afternoon and went through a two hour airport procedure again. Then we got outside and found that we had an ugly and uncomfortable bus and the driver was kind of dumb. I don't remember his name, nor do I desire to. He was kind of funny sometimes though.

Maori Carvings

We drove straight to the Maori Marae, where we would spend our first night in New Zealand. The Maori are basically New Zealand's aborigines, the natives

Where We Slept At The Marae

that lived in New Zealand before European settlers. The Marae was a temple in South Auckland, and when we got there Steven had to do a little ritual dance thing to get us in. We went to a room where mattresses had been laid on the floor for us to sleep on. We got settled and then went to another room to see a show. A few Maoris came out and performed contemporary versions of some of their traditional songs and dances. After that we ate supper that had been cooked for us. Following dinner we went back to the sleeping room and laid in bed while one of the Maoris told us some Maori myths and fables. It was really interesting.

Day 14

06-20-96

Auckland - Rotorua

We left the Marae after breakfast and drove to Rainbow Farms, where they raise trout. There they had a farm show which included sheep shearing. I got a free little sheep toy. After the farm show we went to the Skyline Gondola. We rode a Gondola up to the top of a mountain, and ate lunch at the Skyline Restaurant at the top. It was a delicious buffet. After lunch we got to ride the luge down the mountain, and then we got to ride back up and fool around for a while. A few of us took a nature walk that lasted about an hour longer than we had intended. After the Gondola trip was over, we went back to the Rainbow Farms and took a tour of their park, including the kiwi cage. Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures of the kiwi because they are nocturnal and are kept in a darkened cage.

We then proceeded to Rotorua, a town that smells uncannily like sulfur 24 hours a day. We were at a pretty neat motel and ate dinner there after relaxing for a while. The motel even had an arcade. Eventually everyone spent all their change and went to bed.

Day 15

06-21-96

Rotorua - Taupo - Rotorua

We left early and went to Craters Of The Moon thermal area, where we learned why Rotorua smells like sulfur- all the sulfur springs. This is a big area for geothermal power, and we got to stop at the Geothermal Institute and see a boring video on volcanoes. On the way to our next stop, our driver was telling us about New Zealand television and said "You Americans used to have a show called 'That's Amazing!' Us New Zealanders are somewhat less excitable. We have a show called 'That's Rather Interesting.'" Well I thought it was funny. Guess you had to be there.

Our next stop was Taupo Prawn Farm, where we split up. Half of us took a tour through the prawn farm and saw lots of shrimp, including Grumpy, the biggest prawn in the world. Then we went to the mess hall and had prawn for lunch. I didn't like them. Then the two groups switched off and it was my group's turn to ride the Huka Jet Boat. It was rad! They had this little speedboat that sat about ten people and the driver would go really fast and swoop around corners almost hitting the rock cliffs beside the river. That was one of the highlights of my trip. Unfortunately, the ride only lasted a few minutes.

After that, we took a relaxing drive to Taupo where we got to see Mount Ruapaheu, the volcano that had erupted. It was very faint in the distance, but it was still visible. It is in the very center of the picture below, half-hidden in the clouds.

A view of Lake Taupo, Mt. Ruapaheu in the distance

Then we headed back to Rotorua, where we had a boring dinner after which the leaders lectured us about something. After that we got in a pillow fight outside of the hotel rooms, which got us all grounded for the rest of the evening.

Day 16

06-22-96

Rotorua - Cambridge

After loading up the bus we realized that the weather was going to be quite bad...I'm not sure exactly what we had planned, but we drove around for a while looking for stuff to do.

The Lady Knox Geyser in action

We went to another thermal area, which was kind of neat but smelled pretty raunchy. After that we visited the Lady Knox Soap Geyser, which is... exactly what it sounds like. A soap geyser.

After all that exhilarating sightseeing, we went to the Rotorua City Hall and got to meet the mayor of Rotorua. He talked to us about the city and it was actually quite interesting. It's amazing how well the Anglo New Zealanders treat the Maoris, yet the Maoris themselves are very hostile and mean to the Anglos. Here in America we don't give Native Americans even a fraction of the respect that the Maoris receive, yet they are very tolerable towards us.

After the meeting we drove for a long time and eventually came to Cambridge, where we split up into new homestay groups and, of course, went to our homestays.

This page was created by Nick Huinker with lots of help from Lacey Tauber. Main People To People graphic courtesy (much thanks!) to the People To People Student Ambassadors Website.
I would also like to thank Mr. Sam Montgomery, Mrs. Jo Beth Oestreich, and Ms. Debra Davis, our fearless leaders, as well as everyone else whom I shared this experience with.