Road Trip: North Island NZ (Glow stuff, Free stuff, rain stuff)

Adventure to Waitomo Caves, Rotorura, and the National Park

All Pics came from Google Images: Caving Pics: www.adventuretours.net.nz (glow worms & black water rafting!)

Rotorua Pics: www.travelindex.co.nz (steam), www.britannica.com (Maori stuff)

Tongariro Crossing Pics: www.motorhomehire.co.nz (what I didn't see) :)

Back in Auckland

So, after I got back to Auckland from my 1st Adventure Up North, I hung out with my new friends for a bit - 4 wonderful, beautiful, lovers-of-Jesus girls: Sophia (my 1st host, who picked me up at the airport REALLY early in the morning!), Pam (my North American friend from Canada :)), Emma (my born-kiwi friend), and Kelly (a true Maori girl - the original Kiwi's!, Polynesian descent)...

Great times in church, learning a lot, seeing a lot, wondering a lot; bottom-line, wanting to get closer to Jesus and His ways. (I may blog more about these thoughts/experiences later.)

Then I got ready to go on my next adventure... renting a car and driving Kiwi-style to the National Park!

Renting A Car
Renting a car is quite an experience. No, I guess its the driving that is. The rental part was fine - I got the cheapest deal, a guy said he would match anything, so I got it $10/day lower than the going rate! Then I get there and try to ask all the right questions, like are the tires all filled, liquid levels up, any hidden things in the insurance policy... I'm trying to be a responsible girl traveler! :) So I get in my cute little white car, that looks like a little Honda with its back chopped off to make it even smaller. And, for those of you who don't know, New Zealand drives on the LEFT side of the road. That would be opposite of everything I've ever grown up with. So you get in on the RIGHT side of the car; which is REALLY weird. Where I've always known the steering wheel to be, my whole life, is now just a flat panel!! With a glove compartment under it. And where the flat panel is in my "normal car experience" is the STEERING WHEEL. So I get into the PASSENGER side to drive, and the driver's side to be a passenger. Weird. Now, try driving. You reach to your right to get the gear shift... and find that your hand is hitting the door. The gear shift is still in the middle of the car, on the floor, but you now have to reach with your left hand to get it. You want to turn on the turn signal, and the windshield wipers come on!! How do you get those things off? Then you try to pull forward, praying the whole time (being me), and need to make your first right hand turn into traffic. Watch out. This one is scary. In America, (like it seems I am forever saying, because that is my "normal") we pull quickly in a right turn, going right into traffic. In New Zealand, a right hand turn could be your death. You are pulling ACROSS traffic (like our left-hand turns are in the States); so I ended up looking a zillion times back and forth to make sure I wouldn't be paying the $750 deductible for the car insurance. I did not get hit once. I was very thankful. I actually was turning right 2 times during my little road trip and, without thinking, just naturally pulled a quick right... and found myself going head-on into traffic. Thankfully, they had a stoplight, and several kind people were able to blare their horns at me to remind me that I wasn't in America. Ahh!

Black Water Rafting (really tubing) - in Waitomo Caves
I would highly recommend this activity for all ages, unless you are really old or really young. But I think everyone else would love it. Its named Black Water, because you can't really see it, because you're in a CAVE. Its really nice. We got these great black wet suits (they were very wet and smelled like rental boots at a ski shop - really mildewy... :) white duck boots (duck boots are like rubber galoshes, or rubber boots that go up to your knees) and a helmet... we looked like characters from a sci-fi film tromping across the scene of Lord of the Rings Hobbit-Land to get to our entrance of the cave. It was funny. We climbed down into this tiny hole on a metal ladder, and I knew I was going to have a good time. It was already an adventure. I grew up going to the Children's Museum in Indianapolis, and it is quite famous. One of my favorite exhibits (and I had a lot) was the cave - it was like one big play ground!!! I think they were trying to teach us about limestone or something, I don't remember, all I remember was scurrying around, hiding behind big pillars of rock, ducking under here, climbing over there, squeezing in and out of places... SO COOL. So here was my grown-up version, right before my eyes!! We steeped down into cold water (black water... it was actually clear, but we're in a cave remember) and I was really glad to have my white rubber boots on and mildewy wet suit socks. We had head lamps on our helmets, but that actually got kind of annoying, because when I breathed, vapor would come come, because of my hot breath! and the cold air of the cave (go science!!), and then I couldn't see very clearly... b/c I was breathing, which I couldn't quite help... so I turned my light off and just followed the light of the person in front. I only got in trouble a few times for not having it on.
The guides were HILARIOUS. They were really good and really funny. They told funny stories, tried to scare us multiple times, made HUGE not-necessary splashes in the water, and it felt like a big youth group canoe trip... lots of fun. One of the guides found out I was LOVING the cave adventure and so he pointed out different little side routes I could creep through on my belly... or crawl over there so I could see something really neat... or check out this eel in the water... I'm not kidding, there really was an eel. It wasn't the electric kind, but it still looked scary... I touched it though, it was really slimy and gushy. (They're the long fishy things that look like really fat snakes in the water... there were some on the Little Mermaid.)
The most amazing thing was the GLOW WORMS. Wow. This was cool. They're really larva of some time of maggot... and I guess the story is they don't have the "out" end of a digestive system, so instead of getting all stopped up, they have a chemical they release in their belly that breaks down the food and light is given off in the process; so we were really seeing glowing waste. hmmm. nice thought. But that aside, it really was beautiful. Our one long tube ride (the 4 hour trip alternated between walking, crawling, swimming, wading, belly scooching, and tubing - laying on a fat inner tube and floating down the black water); it was like we were in VENICE, ITALY (that's what I thought), floating along in our boats, looking up at the stars in the night sky... the glow worms were little pinpoints of greenish-gold light up on the cave ceiling about 10-20 feet above our heads... and there were THOUSANDS of these little beautiful pinpoints of light; looked like constellations or the Milk way across the cave roof. I loved it. It was my date night with Jesus. :)

That night, I followed some new friends, driving 100-miles-an-hour, really 100 km/hr, which I think (come on, science teacher!) is 0.6 times miles/hr... so about 1/2 plus 10%... so 50 + 10 = 60 miles/hr... but it SEEMED like 100 mph! We were zooming, but I had to stay up with them, because I didn't know my way to this Bay, where I was staying that night. I was praying the whole time, and being REALLY focused. The only good thing was I didn't have to worry about deer. In Colorado, where I had just come from for the past 4 months, there were deer EVERYWHERE at night, and they really liked to run out and get hit by your car... which is not like a video game, where you may just plow them over and keep going, but you could really ruin your car and get hurt. But its not like that here in New Zealand. Their deer stay in the woods, I guess. It helped take a load off my shoulders - I just had to focus on staying to the LEFT. I spent the night at Emma's parents - beautiful people, and to their credit, here's how the conversation went... I was originally planning on being up there 2 days later, so Emma hadn't had a chance to call them yet... I call the number, her dad answers, I introduce myself, and ask if it would be Ok to spend the night there, feeling a bit stupid... but, to his credit and my great relief! he said, "any friend of Emma's is a friend of ours! Come on up!" Wow. That was really nice. He called Emma later, to verify that it was true and I wasn't some con artist swindler. But still, very impressive. It made me want to say that later in life... any friend of my kid is a friend of ours! Like God, maybe... any friend of my Son is a friend of Mine! So I get there 2 hours later, visit for a bit, take a nice hot shower, and go to bed. Thank you, Jesus, for friends!!

The next day it was overcast, and I was supposed to go around and see some beautiful bay and mountain, but her parents suggested, b/c of the weather and traffic, just head down to Rotorura, my next destination. By this 2nd day of driving, I was getting a bit better... didn't feel quite so weird to be sitting in the passenger seat, driving. I made it down to Rotorura, famous for hot, smelly things... like geysers, bubbling mud-pots, hot baths (smelly like sulfur, or stinky eggs). It reminded me of Yellowstone. They also had a world-famous sheep-sheering show (that's a nice phrase, try it 5 times fast!)... And a lot of Maori things (the original people... like our Native Indians; customs, food, traditional villages, etc.) None of these "official toursity things" I went to. All cost different amounts of $, and I figured I would spend mine on other things... so instead I found FREE alternatives for all of these. I saw some free sheep (I mean, they were just standing there, I didn't have to pay anything to see them), I went to a museum that cost some money, but I stayed outside in the FREE lobby and looked at the FREE displays and pictures in the NZ tourist books... and saw some cool Maori stuff that way (and Kelly, my official Maori friend, made some awesome Maori bread, so I felt very Maori-educated! Interesting side note, when you say, Maori, officially, with the right accent, it sounds a bit like "moldy" to me... so when I first heard Kelly say she was going to make some moldy bread, I wasn't interested. But then I found out it was Maori. Oh. And it was good; it was like sweet white bread; and it wasn't moldy.) And finally, God helped me find a FREE park, with a FREE steam bath that I got to soak my feet in for FREE. I was really impressed with Him. And as I was walking around the park, I got to see a lot of steamy ponds and some mud pits, so I felt like I got to see the hot stuff of Rotorura, for FREE (plus, I had been to Yellowstone, so I had an idea of what all the money exhibits would look like... I love it when people charge you to see what GOD made... crazy. Maybe its because they made a gift shop next to it.) Anyway, I was really happy with my FREE-day Rotorura experience.

Another 2 cool things of that day in Rotorura - I got to watch some grandparent-aged people play croquet and a game called Balls... both on these amazingly flat and groomed fields. They were official. And the nice people let me try! I wasn't very good. They whooped me. But it was fun! Cool thing #2 - I was feeling a bit down... traveling, tired of traveling, being by myself, just going around, seeing more things... so I decided to call, on my International Roaming Quad Band Phone (whoah), my GRANDMA and GRANDPA SMILEY and then later my MOM!!! It was so good to talk to them. Ahhhh. Nothing like a good phone call home.

I love my grandparents. And my mom. :) :) :)

Cool thing was, it was about 2:30 in the afternoon in NZ on Wed, and it was 9:30 pm in IN/IL, where they live, the NIGHT BEFORE. crazy.
Before leaving Rotorura, I bought some groceries for my coming camping trip in the National Park.

National Park
So there's this really cool park in the North Island, that is famous for its volcanoes. I guess there are about 4 big peaks in this park, and one is a really good-looking conical opening spout, and they are really tall. Maybe like in Colorado. Anyway, there's also this famous one-day "tramp" (New Zealander's call it "tramping" and we call it backpacking or hiking) called the "Tongiraro Crossing" (I hope I spelled that right) that is supposedly the most beautiful one-day hike in all of New Zealand (emerald green lakes, lava fields, dramatic mountains and volcano peaks - Mt. Gloom, or something like that, from Lord of the Rings is one of these mountains). Its suppose to be a workout of a hike, but I figured I could handle it, coming from living with the BMW (beautiful mountain women) from Gunnison, Colorado! :) So I drove down there in my little cute car, and set up my tent to wait for the morning. The next day was solid cloud. And wind. And rain. Ugh. The Crossing was closed that day due to the weather... the shuttles that you have to take were not running. Ugh. So I hiked to a waterfall instead. It was pretty.
And I had a nice time with Jesus. We talked quite a bit. And I had an idea. Many backpackers do a lot of reading on their journeys, and they trade books with each other, and there are even stations in the hostels that have books to exchange. I bet a lot of people would be willing to read some part of the Bible if it was in a smaller version - more condensed, maybe like the Gospels, or the New Testament, or maybe 5 main books, or pull-outs from different parts (some would be interested in reading the whole thing, but I'm thinking more for most people who may want more bite-size chunks at first)... and have it in different covers - plain, army-style, crazy, whatever, to attract people to it. Then they could read it while they're traveling and maybe start to think about Jesus, who He was/is, what He did, and how that affects me. Hmmm. I know people will find a Bible if they're really looking, but what if they're out there, more accessible, like what the Gideon's did in all the main hotels of the US? Hmmm.
God bring it, enable it, if this is an idea from You.

I spent one more night in the National Park - for $4, and set up camp in the rain. I met some cool people from Czech republic, Hannah and friend, and another guy from France. We asked God to clear up the weather for the next day, my last day to see these volcanoes, and I hadn't seen them yet (only one from the distance the day before).

The next morning was GORGEOUS. I thanked God for pushing away the clouds... it was amazing. BRIGHT sunshine, glorious blue sky, fresh air... and the weather forecast had been HEAVY overcast and rain for the next 3 days. My God is AWESOME. I drove around the other side of the National Park on the way back to Auckland, and saw some beautiful country-side, and some more sheep. The mountains were still covered in clouds, but these clouds looked like what I imagine Moses and the Israelites saw when God covered Mount Sinai in clouds... swirling things, white/grey, Beautiful. As I drove further north, the clouds came back in (but after a beautiful morning of CLEAR), and at one point there was mist happening and sun up ahead... and behind me, in my rear-view mirror (on the right had side!) was a glorious RAINBOW. wow. That thing was impressive. All the colors, in all their glory. Sign of God's promise. I got out and got quite a few pictures. And the Lord brought Isaiah 51 (vs 1-16) to my mind... a verse He showed me the night before. It was about God restoring your wastelands and desert places; and why do we fear man and their insults? And this was a rainbow over a desert-waste-looking land... so to me, it was God's promise that He was going to accomplish that restoration and delivery of fear of men from my heart. Amen. Do it, God.

The rest of the drive back to Auckland had some more adventures, and maybe I'll write about them later.

Headed Back to Auckland for a Women's Retreat Conference that weekend w/ my new friends!