Two hours west of Rotorua is the village of Waitomo, famous for its limestone caves and glowworms! These bioluminescent beauties are the larval stage of a fungus gnat. They produce a mucous-y silk that hangs down in strands to catch their prey of small flying insects, which are attracted to the lights in the dark. You can view the caves on a relaxed walk-and-boat ride or you can go what I'm calling the EXXXTREME ENTOMOLOGY way. Donning thick wetsuits, neoprene socks, and very fetching white boots, we headed into the caves armed with headlamps and inner tubes! We had to do a practice jump beforehand – backwards off a platform into the freezing waters 3 meters below and landing on our inner tubes. An Irish couple didn't fare well in the practice run (Rich said you could've mistook the guy's cold shock for a heart attack), and they backed out completely once they saw the rushing waters in the first cave. Heavy rains in the area meant the water levels underground were very high. One section called “the limbo” was really more of a duck and dive job since there was less than 6 inches of head space between the water level and the rock above. Caving with the inner tube was actually a little cumbersome because if you weren't actually on it, the fast currents will drag it – and you – even more. The currents did make for some fun tubing, especially through the narrow passes where we joined up in a chain and turned off our headlamps to enjoy the starry sky-like glow of the worms. The ambiance was made complete by our group's rendition of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” in the echo-y caverns. We all managed the jumps and slides fine, and the guides challenged us to a game of “Find the Exit” by going dark and following only the trail of the glowworms above, floating solo until we all eventually emerged into the sunlit rainforest. Awesome!
New Plymouth, another 2.5 hours southwest of Waitomo, is usually not a place for tourists. A good-sized town, or “city” by New Zealand standards, it is mostly known as the home of the oil and gas industry. We were there, however, to visit friends. Oddly enough, one of Rich's friends from college (a Brit) and one of my friends from grad school (an American) both just happened to have moved to this exact corner of New Zealand this year. We had a stroll along the waterfront (where volunteers were scanning the coast for missing and presumed drowned climbers) and peeked into the local museum. We tried several times to get a shot of the nearby mountain Taranaki (so perfectly cone-shaped, it's sometimes a movie double for Mt. Fuji) though the persistent rain and clouds were conspiring against us. But mostly in New Plymouth, we enjoyed the simple pleasures of life: an excellent tea and scones in a cafe, the ancient art of prowling for secondhand CD's in a record shop, and drinking good beers (Rich's friend unveiled a particularly fine stout he homebrewed).
Friday, August 24, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Rotorua (New Zealand)
A flight attendant recommended waiting until daylight to drive the 2.5 hours southeast from Auckland to Rotorua in order to appreciate the scenery. We had to admit it was a pretty good rendition of idyllic pastoral beauty. Rich thought it looked like England, but stretched on the z-axis. Blue skies – check. Rolling mossy green hills – check. Fluffy sheep and placid cows dotting said hills – check. As one person put it to us before, it's almost too perfect to be real. All it needed was a Christmas nativity or a model train set in order to convince us otherwise. No wonder director Peter Jackson decided to use one spot in the area for Hobbiton in the Lord of the Rings films. To cap it all off, we saw 4 rainbows in one day!
Rotorua is the one of the North Island's biggest tourist destinations. It is one of the world's most concentrated and accessible geothermal sites, and we checked them out a couple of ways. Wai-o-tapu is a park of multi-colored geothermal pools and geysers. The pools, rocks, and even plants are covered with layers of strange residues, e.g. reds for iron oxide, yellows or greens for sulfurs, etc. While most of these areas are too hot to even walk on (use the platforms for safety), there are other pools which you can sink right into at the spa in town. The rotten egg smell seems to pervade all of Rotorua, but somehow you manage to forget this and all your other cares in the steaming mineral baths overlooking the serene lake and surrounding hillsides.
Rotorua and the lake are important places for the indigenous Maori people. You can visit Maori village sites to learn more about the culture. Although most Maoris live integrated into modern life, the presentation showcased such important aspects like traditional greetings, songs, warrior canoes, and weapons training. Although obviously directed towards tourism, it doesn't feel forced or inauthentic. It's clear that the people are eager to share and preserve their culture. Visitors most look forward to the hangi, the traditional special meal buried and cooked over coals for hours. The lamb and chicken were very tender, the potatoes and kumara (a type of sweet potato) were wonderfully smoky, and the inclusion of stuffing showed the influence of British settlers. Yum!
Rotorua is the one of the North Island's biggest tourist destinations. It is one of the world's most concentrated and accessible geothermal sites, and we checked them out a couple of ways. Wai-o-tapu is a park of multi-colored geothermal pools and geysers. The pools, rocks, and even plants are covered with layers of strange residues, e.g. reds for iron oxide, yellows or greens for sulfurs, etc. While most of these areas are too hot to even walk on (use the platforms for safety), there are other pools which you can sink right into at the spa in town. The rotten egg smell seems to pervade all of Rotorua, but somehow you manage to forget this and all your other cares in the steaming mineral baths overlooking the serene lake and surrounding hillsides.
Rotorua and the lake are important places for the indigenous Maori people. You can visit Maori village sites to learn more about the culture. Although most Maoris live integrated into modern life, the presentation showcased such important aspects like traditional greetings, songs, warrior canoes, and weapons training. Although obviously directed towards tourism, it doesn't feel forced or inauthentic. It's clear that the people are eager to share and preserve their culture. Visitors most look forward to the hangi, the traditional special meal buried and cooked over coals for hours. The lamb and chicken were very tender, the potatoes and kumara (a type of sweet potato) were wonderfully smoky, and the inclusion of stuffing showed the influence of British settlers. Yum!
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Auckland (New Zealand)
The curse of the
discount airlines struck down our plans to reunite in Auckland for a
day of sightseeing. With Julie stuck in Sydney for an extra 24 hours,
I was forced to go it alone. Unfortunately, being accustomed to being
under her boot, I was unable to fully let my hair down and spent most
of the day walking around aimlessly.
The decision to walk rather than drive got some strange looks from the hostel staff, but I'm glad I did. The half hour walk to the city centre was a nice one with good views of Auckland and the iconic sky tower all the way in. I also stopped in at a Asian-run Italian coffee shop that baked pastry shipped frozen from France. To my surprise, it was the best coffee I've had so far this trip. They also recommended I go to the port to check out the seafood market (see Julie's previous post regarding Asians and seafood). Although it was nice to see, it made me appreciate how lucky we are in Barcelona to have bigger seafood markets in every barrio!
My only other adventure was going to the Auckland Art Gallery. The new gallery (completed in time for the 2011 Rugby World Cup) showcases the best of Kiwi contemporary art. A big surprise came while I was puzzling over the toilet seat glued to the ceiling next to a row of framed O's. A tall, well dressed, and very excited man (who later turned out to be the museum's curator) came running through the exhibits telling people to get upstairs as quickly as possible. An award winning performance artist was coming on a surprise visit and about to do an impromptu show! I sauntered upstairs trying to pretend I was too cool be be excited about such things. Only when I got there did I read that this artist tries to “explore the relationship between artist and audience.” I think it's clear to everyone what that means. Yes, we would be called upon to “do stuff.” I hid quietly in the corner and prayed that she didn't pick me for some kind of embarrassing act, and prayed harder that the person next to me wasn't some kind of secret performer that was about to jump up and cause the crowd to look in my general direction. Fortunately, I was let off the hook, free to ponder the artist-audience relationship that arises from shoulder wrestling to the strains of an upside-down string quartet. Hmmmmm.
All in all, I had an interesting day in Auckland by myself. I was glad to pick Julie up later that evening, though, so we could continue our adventures together.
The decision to walk rather than drive got some strange looks from the hostel staff, but I'm glad I did. The half hour walk to the city centre was a nice one with good views of Auckland and the iconic sky tower all the way in. I also stopped in at a Asian-run Italian coffee shop that baked pastry shipped frozen from France. To my surprise, it was the best coffee I've had so far this trip. They also recommended I go to the port to check out the seafood market (see Julie's previous post regarding Asians and seafood). Although it was nice to see, it made me appreciate how lucky we are in Barcelona to have bigger seafood markets in every barrio!
My only other adventure was going to the Auckland Art Gallery. The new gallery (completed in time for the 2011 Rugby World Cup) showcases the best of Kiwi contemporary art. A big surprise came while I was puzzling over the toilet seat glued to the ceiling next to a row of framed O's. A tall, well dressed, and very excited man (who later turned out to be the museum's curator) came running through the exhibits telling people to get upstairs as quickly as possible. An award winning performance artist was coming on a surprise visit and about to do an impromptu show! I sauntered upstairs trying to pretend I was too cool be be excited about such things. Only when I got there did I read that this artist tries to “explore the relationship between artist and audience.” I think it's clear to everyone what that means. Yes, we would be called upon to “do stuff.” I hid quietly in the corner and prayed that she didn't pick me for some kind of embarrassing act, and prayed harder that the person next to me wasn't some kind of secret performer that was about to jump up and cause the crowd to look in my general direction. Fortunately, I was let off the hook, free to ponder the artist-audience relationship that arises from shoulder wrestling to the strains of an upside-down string quartet. Hmmmmm.
All in all, I had an interesting day in Auckland by myself. I was glad to pick Julie up later that evening, though, so we could continue our adventures together.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Sydney, Part II (Australia)
Sydney's Fish Market is the second largest in the world behind Tokyo's. As a seafood lover and hobby cook, I couldn't resist the Behind the Scenes tour, despite the 6:45 am start time. The demographics of the tour group were particularly amusing – a bunch of Asians and a couple of Frenchmen. But really, who else would be eager to get up so early to look at fresh caught fish? Fisherman in Australia are now required to land 100% of their catch so the Fish Market Seafood School and other outreach programs have been working to educate Sydneysiders (as the locals are known) and visitors on how to prepare and appreciate all the riches of the sea. The seafood is sorted, weighed, graded, and crated on the floor, and various suppliers and buyers can wander through examining the lots before the auction begins at 5:30 am. The auction itself is complicated, and the big screens, stadium seating, and panel of buttons at each place look more akin to an off-track betting operation. Most lots are sold in reverse auction (or “Dutch” auction since it was popularized for selling tulips), where the price starts high and winds down on the screen until someone presses “stop” and wins. Other lots start high, wind down, and then confusingly go up again as interested buyers outbid each other. Weaving through the stacks of crates, the tour guide picked up interesting specimens, explaining how they are caught and giving tips on buying and preparing them. In the sashimi pavillion, we saw the big fish that would be auctioned as single lots: gorgeous sushi-grade tuna, swordfish, and even a couple of mako sharks!
Though the city is known for its life on the waterfront, Sydney's greenspaces are nothing to be sneezed at either. Hyde Park, named for the one in London, is centrally located and home to the Anzac Memorial. At various times, but most significantly in World War I, Australia and New Zealand troops (or “Anzacs”) fought for the British crown... often it seemed with devastating consequences under their British commanding officers. The Royal Botanic Gardens and the adjacent Domain also had their origins in colonial times but now are big, beautiful parks with prime locations in downtown Sydney. Many of the Brit expats (a.k.a. “Poms” in Aussie-speak) were so homesick that the section that grows plants native to their “green and pleasant land” was and continues to be one of the most popular in the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Though the city is known for its life on the waterfront, Sydney's greenspaces are nothing to be sneezed at either. Hyde Park, named for the one in London, is centrally located and home to the Anzac Memorial. At various times, but most significantly in World War I, Australia and New Zealand troops (or “Anzacs”) fought for the British crown... often it seemed with devastating consequences under their British commanding officers. The Royal Botanic Gardens and the adjacent Domain also had their origins in colonial times but now are big, beautiful parks with prime locations in downtown Sydney. Many of the Brit expats (a.k.a. “Poms” in Aussie-speak) were so homesick that the section that grows plants native to their “green and pleasant land” was and continues to be one of the most popular in the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Sydney (Australia)
Rich pushed on with work so I headed down to New South Wales to play. Sydney is Australia's most famous city though it isn't the capital (purpose-built Canberra is). Conceptually, I knew it was a harbor town though I was still unprepared to find it riddled with wharfs, harbors, and quays.
Circular Quay (pronounced “key”) is the main dock for the green and yellow public ferry system as well as home to the famed Sydney Opera House. Jørn Utzon, the Danish architect who submitted the winning design, fell out of favor with the city when the build took 10 more years and 14x the amount of money that he estimated. He died, never seeing the completion of this Australian icon. Opposite the Sydney Opera House are The Rocks district (the first settlement in Sydney and now home to artsy cafes and boutique shops) and the impressive Harbour Bridge.
The 18th Biennale, an international art festival that happens every two years, provided a good opportunity to get on the water. There was a free ferry to Cockatoo Island, the site of a former shipyard run on convict labor, where the industrial buildings of the museum were transformed into a contemporary art walk. With an Alcatraz kinda feel – and maybe I've watched too many movies - some of the impromptu galleries were a little eerie... like an abandoned warehouse that would be the perfect location for the someone to be tied up in a chair and tortured by the bad guys. More exhibitions were free (!) to the public at the excellent Art Gallery of New South Wales as well as the Australia Museum of Contemporary Art for the Biennale festivities.
Circular Quay (pronounced “key”) is the main dock for the green and yellow public ferry system as well as home to the famed Sydney Opera House. Jørn Utzon, the Danish architect who submitted the winning design, fell out of favor with the city when the build took 10 more years and 14x the amount of money that he estimated. He died, never seeing the completion of this Australian icon. Opposite the Sydney Opera House are The Rocks district (the first settlement in Sydney and now home to artsy cafes and boutique shops) and the impressive Harbour Bridge.
The 18th Biennale, an international art festival that happens every two years, provided a good opportunity to get on the water. There was a free ferry to Cockatoo Island, the site of a former shipyard run on convict labor, where the industrial buildings of the museum were transformed into a contemporary art walk. With an Alcatraz kinda feel – and maybe I've watched too many movies - some of the impromptu galleries were a little eerie... like an abandoned warehouse that would be the perfect location for the someone to be tied up in a chair and tortured by the bad guys. More exhibitions were free (!) to the public at the excellent Art Gallery of New South Wales as well as the Australia Museum of Contemporary Art for the Biennale festivities.
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