Rotorua Off the Beaten Path Tips by b1bob

What sets these apart from others is the presence of so-called glow worms. I don't believe in glow worms. I believe they are really thousands of points of light at the end of a long, narrow stick (like they sell at Disneyland). In 1991, George Bush the elder was president. Therefore, all I could think about in the silent trip by boat through the caves was his "Thousand Points of Light" speech.

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We landed in Auckland at 9.00 (local time). I wasn't expecting Jonathan at the airport because I told him I would ring him from the hotel in Auckland. On passing through customs, we met our New Zealand guide (Maria). My first impression of Maria was that she was not all there (but compared to some people I've met since then, Maria appears almost normal). She punctuated every sentence with "okay". On boarding the coach, it seemed colder in New Zealand than in Australia. It was between 40-60° (5-15°C) in Australia, subtract 10°F from each end to get the high and low for New Zealand. Our hotel for Saturday night was the Econo Lodge in Auckland (don't laugh, there is really an Econo Lodge in New Zealand, probably one in hell too unless Marriott, with their lackluster cuisine, won that concession). In spite of being midnight, I rung Jonathan (it was a local call) because I said I would. We agreed on meeting in Rotorua on my last day in New Zealand. Jonathan wanted to join us the following day Orakei Korako (pronunced OROCKY KOROCKO), but even he had never heard of it before. That was only a foreshadowing of coming events to be explained below. We flapped our gums for a good hour and a half and then I went to bed. Before taking the lift up to the room, I remembered to cancel Mr. Rath's wake-up call. I fell into bed, sleeping before my head hit the pillow.

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All good things have to come to and end. The wake-up call came at 5.30. At that time, after 4 hours of sleep, mumbling expletives under my breath, cussing the dipsticks at the desk who don't now how to cancel a simple wake-up call. I found out later that Mr. Rath's wake-up call was to be at 6.30, so it was Maria who "out-Rathed" Mr. Rath. Breakfast in the dining room was a real feast in the form of a buffet. There were all styles of eggs, bacon, all kinds of fruits (with juice from each one), all manner of cereals, coffee, tea, and milk. I was a glutton that Sunday morning, 7 July. I ate and drank a little of everything (except for milk which I am allergic). On waiting for the coach, I noticed that some lug nut left the door open when it was cold- some 35°F (2°C) that winter's morning.

We got on the bus by 7.00. We passed through downtown Auckland on the way to the countryside, stopping at a volcanic crater in the downtown area to take photos. It bumfuzzled me that our itinerary did not include more time in Auckland.

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We passed by hills more remote and even more populated by sheep. Someone brought along a cassette, but all the songs were American by the likes of Jimmy Buffet, whose songs with a tropical theme such as "Margaritaville" and "Cheeseburger in Paradise" were somewhat out of place in this winter's climate influenced by the Antarctic. It is true that when I go overseas for a long time, I miss music from Don Williams and other singers from Nashville. In general, I believe that listening to American music on a visit of just two weeks is a sin equal to visiting a McDonald's in Tahiti.

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