(Mitch: I'll edit in red! So fun.)
Anzac Day in New Zealand is like our Remembrance Day. It always falls on April 25th, which is the day that ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) soldiers landed at Gallipoli in 1915. This year's ceremony was rather special, since it marked 100 years since that day. The typical Anzac service in New Zealand cities is a dawn parade of veteran representatives, army personnel, youth clubs, etc. A typical service lasts about a half hour and consists of a hymn, a prayer, the laying of wreaths, the playing of the Last Post, Reveille, and the playing of both the Australian and New Zealand national anthems.
This year Anzac Day fell on a Saturday. Our friends and Mitch and I planned to attend the dawn service (which starts at 6 am) and then gather for breakfast at Vic's place. Laura, Viranchi, and Bianca picked Mitch and I up at our house around 5:45 and we headed to the centre of town. The streets were crowded and parking was hard to find but we eventually parked the car and made our way quietly to the war monument at the centre of town. It was eerie, almost - the hushed chatter of people, the quiet footsteps, watching the clouds produced by people's breath in the cool morning air. It was still dark, but there we were gathered all around with hundreds of other people, waiting for the solemn ceremony to start. It's definitely something I'll remember for a long time to come.
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| Dawn Service at the war memorial. |
Breakfast was fun - I was nervous because Mitch and I hadn't yet broken the news to anyone about our engagement and I was wearing the ring but struggling to figure out if I wanted someone to notice or if I'd rather wait and make an announcement. In the end we announced it when everyone had finished eating. (Mitch: We broke the news when Laura said "Jenna and Mitch had an eventful evening!" and Vic replied with "Wot, did yous get engaged?") We accepted everyone's congratulations and after breakfast began the long process of telling everyone - this meant spending the morning on the phone to all of our family members. It was exciting breaking the news to everyone, but by the time the phone calls were made and I was on my way to Mitch's soccer game with Laura I was kind of exhausted...it was an emotional 16 hours! I should mention that while I was reveling in the joy of the previous night, making phone calls, and breaking the news to various other people, I was also trying to clean up the apartment and pack our bags for our weekend trip to Rotorua. Mitch was playing a soccer game in Eltham (about 45 minutes away)(Mitch: I scored!) and we were to leave for Rotorua (about a 4 hour drive) straight after his game.
We planned the trip a few weeks ago. It had been a while since we'd been out of town, and since I had Monday off in lieu of Anzac Day, we decided to take advantage of the long weekend. It ended up being a nice way to get away and celebrate a bit, just the two of us. We had booked a hotel in Rotorua, looked up a few popular activities, and planned to hit Hobbiton on the way home on Monday (about an hour outside of Rotorua).
Rotorua is a geothermal area of the country. The entire town smells like rotten eggs, I kid you not. There's so much sulfur in the ground there, that is literally runs down the street when it rains. I watched little yellow rivers flow through a parking lot...it's kind of insane. Aside from being smelly, however, Rotorua is a nice place. It's crawling with tourists (Mitch: aka Asians), but since we fall into that category I tried not to let my judgement be swayed by that fact. Nicknamed by some as "RotoVegas" there are quite a few activities to partake in.
Sunday morning we woke early to pack it all in. First stop was the geothermal public park, so we could see what all the fuss was about. As we pulled up, we could already glimpse small puffs of steam rising out of the ground. Various bubbling mud pits were cordoned off in several areas. After our 10th or 11th one, Mitch asked me how many more bubbling pits we wanted to look at. I had to laugh: we was right, it wasn't much to see, but I was still glad we went nonetheless. We soaked our feet in the foot spas before leaving.
Next stop was Mitch's choice: Foot Golf. It's the game of golf, but played with a soccer ball. Yes, the holes in the ground are massive, and yes, it's played on an actual golf course. A par-5 hole was about 180m, with a par-3 being about 60m. The first hole was misleading: I was terrible (I didn't keep score) and Mitch birdied it (he ended up +8 on the round). It was fun, and despite how bad I was, I DID improve as the round went on, even beating Mitch on a few holes (woo!). It started to rain quite a bit by our last hole, so with that good timing, we moved on to our next activity: a walk through The Redwoods.
The Redwood forest in Rotorua is not native to New Zealand; these Redwood trees are of the same giant variety found native to California. Some were planted over 100 years ago, with some being planted as "recently" as the 1960s. They were planted for timber in the early 1900s but this grove stands as a memorial. The Redwoods were found to thrive in this particular area, and the forest is quite breathtaking. There are several trails of varying lengths and difficulties, including mountain bike trails. It was a beautiful walk.
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| A walkway in the Redwoods. |
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| Endor? The water was crystal clear, and you could see deep into it at all the fallen trees, like the dead marshes in LotR. |
From the serene forest grove, it was off to get our adrenaline pumping at the luge! Skyline Rotorua is situated atop Mt Ngongotaha and uses the slopes for various gravity-induced thrills. The gondola takes you to the top, where you can walk, bike, or luge down! We purchased 3 luge rides each. Basically there are various paved tracks (a "scenic route" an "intermediate" and an "advanced" track) and you get in a little go-kart type vehicle that's not motorized, just equipped with a braking system. After securing a helmet and a quick tutorial from the guides at the top, you're off down the track. Think Mario Kart, but in real life. It was a blast! I couldn't help but giggle when I pictured getting a big group together, all dressed up like different characters in Mario Kart, then luging down the mountain...Now there's an idea.
After all that, we realized we hadn't eaten all day! The luge took longer than expected. We met up with another couple from New Plymouth who were staying in the area for the weekend for a drink, then found ourselves some dinner. As has become tradition when Mitch and I explore a new city, Mitch had already scoped out the local watering holes, brewpubs in particular. We managed to hit the local Brewpub, "Brew", twice in less than 48 hours. I consider good food and beer to be an essential part of a good vacation!
Finally, we couldn't end our visit to Rotorua without visiting some hot pools. After dinner we took a relaxing dip in the various pools at the Polynesian Spas. The pools are of varying temperature, and we made sure to check them all out.
I think we made good use of our one full day in Rotorua! We certainly packed in as much as we could, but I felt like we also did a good job of not stressing about it too much: we did our research, made a short list of places we wanted to see or do, and then we just decided after each activity what we felt like doing next. We might have been riding on our post-engagement high, but it was definitely one of the least stressful trips we've taken in terms of feeling like we took full advantage of our time and got to do some cool activities.
Unfortunately, due to the weather, we didn't take many pictures. Mitch might have some on his phone, so I'll bug him to insert some with an edit if I find any. (Mitch: Done!)
I would definitely check out Rotorua again. It's a neat little corner of the world.
P.S.Next post: Hobbiton! We checked it out on our way home from Rotorua since it was only a minor detour.
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