Raglan and Rotorua

Black sand beach in Raglan, looking out over the Tasman Sea

Hello again!

I've had very bad internet access lately--it would've been better, except the computers at the hostel in Raglan would only take $2 coins, which I find hard to come by. Anyway, on Friday of last week, I left Auckland for Raglan.

Palm tree on beach in Raglan

Raglan was amazing. It's a little town on the west coast that's known for surfing (even in winter!). I, however, do not surf, though I may have taken the hostel up on its offer of lessons had it been warmer. Since I do not, in fact, surf, and would much rather be next to the water rather than in it, it would seem like Raglan would have little to offer. I loved it anyway. It rained most of the time I was there, so I had the perfect excuse to stay inside and make liberal use of the hostel's book swap. Furthermore, the hostel was quite probably one of the nicest I've stayed in. Sure, there wasn't heat in the room I stayed in, but it had a great living room, a nice courtyard, awesome staff, and a really laid-back atmosphere. I was there 5 nights, and was really sad to leave.

Lake Rotorua

Now I'm in Rotorua, which is a big tourist center, and has been for over 100 years. That's why there's a town here. It's a geothermal hotspot (sorry), so there are hot springs everywhere. It's also right on the shore of Lake Rotorua. I went to the museum this morning, which used to be a bathhouse and sanatorium. I learned about the Mt. Tarawera eruption of 1886, which destroyed one of the big tourist draws of the day: the Pink and White Terraces. Also, over 100 people died and several Maori villages were buried. I also went to Kuirau Park, which has a bunch of mud pools.

Hotspring in Kuirau Park, Rotorua

I can't quite put much of what I've experienced lately into any sort of coherent narrative form, so I'm not going to. What follows is snatchs of my trip thus far.

• I saw the largest dairy factory in the Southern Hemisphere.
• I've seen more cows in one day than I have in my entire life--and I'm from Wisconsin!
• I've seen cows out in pasture with blankets on, like for horses. Who cares enough about a cow's coat to put a blanket on it?
• People here have sheep and cows in their front yards.
• I went to a craft store in Rotorua yesterday, and talked to the shopkeeper for a long time. I also talked to a German girl who was getting yarn to crochet slippers. The shopkeeper wanted us to start traveling together, since she thinks traveling alone is too dangerous. Unfortunately for her schemes, I'm heading south, while the German girl was going east.
• I got a field guide to New Zealand wildlife today, since I'm sick of not knowing what the birds are named. I have since learned that today I saw a pukeko, which is a lovely bird with "rich purple-blue underpants." I can now also identify the Australasian bittern and mallards.
• The scenery here is like nothing I've ever seen. I keep trying to relate it to other places I've been, but I can't. Also, sadly, since I've seen most of it from the bus, I can't show it to you, either.
  

On Saturday, I head south a few miles to Taupo to fill out all the paperwork and get settled in to start work on Monday!