Biff issues

So, another eventful week has passed here. We are currently back up with Danny and Catherine in Whangarei. It is so nice to be in a proper bed, have a nice bath and be with our friends again. Rotorua was fun, once you got over the stench of eggs, or "iggs" as they are pronounced here. The campsite we stayed in had a cool swimming pool which, for once wasn't over run by annoying squealing children which meant we could have a relaxing swim in the summer sun. Kate of course got burnt, but managed to even up the sun burn on her chest so she no longer has just one burnt boob. We did quite a lot in our few days we spent in Rotorua. We went to Te Puia which is a large Moari run geothermal park. It was huge and we traipsed around the boiling mudpools and geysers in the hot sun. They also had a wood carving studio there and i was hopeful of finally getting a nice carved box for my brother to settle into. However the boxes were all too small. I have seen one i like but it's way too small. We have looked all over NZ and have seen some amazingly intricately carved tribal style boxes, but every single one is only jewellery box sized. The hunt continues.

We went zorbing too as Rotorua is the only place in NZ that does it. For the uneducated, a zorb is a huge inflatable ball within an even bigger inflatable ball. Basically you climb ino the inner ball and they roll you down the side of a hill. It was awesome. We hydro zorbed which meant they filled the inner ball with a bit of warm water, then rolled you down the hill. We did the zig zag track too just to proper mess ourselves up. Kate went first and i could hear her squeals and laughs as she hurtled down the track. When it came to my try i of course embarrassed myself. The way you get into a zorb is through a little porthole which you have to run then dive into. On doing this i managed to dive into the zorb in one swift movement but managed to hook my swimming shorts as i dived in. This meant that as i landed in the inner ball of the zorb my shorts were around my ankles! Very graceful but unfortunately quite nude. I apologised to the poor maori dude who was helping but he was already running off clutching his face in pain and screaming something about how his eyes felt like they now had herpes! Oops. So i jumped up and like some sort of huge hamster, rolled my ball onto the track before being thrown around and drenched as it rolled off down the hillside. I imagine it is similar to a cross between a bouncy castle and being in a washing machine. I made it to the bottom were you are ceremoniously "birthed" out of the zorb. They unzip the porthole and you slide out of with all the water. It totally looked like the zorb has just given birth to a wet, disorientated 6 foot baby! Awesome fun though and quite cheap by NZ standards. Definitely something i recommend.

We also went to a Maori evening with the local Mitai tribe. They show you life in an old Maori village and some of their customs, before being greeted by a huge war canoe full of kitted out warriors. You then have a big meal that is cooked in the ground called a 'hangi' When we went outside to see the hangi being unveiled our guide asked us what it was. We all shouted back "hangi!" She then asked if we could smell it? To which one dumb American tourist behind me smugly shouted "H-A-N-G-I" I of course turned and informed her that she said smell, not spell. Her partner also told her this and she then went on to admit that she had never been so embarrassed. I of course found it all hilarious. Our guide, who was this huge tattooed Maori women then led us into a big hall and we had dinner. It was well nice and i stuffed my face with lamb, chicken, kumara and stuffing. I decided that it was gonna be the closest thing we are going to have to a Christmas dinner this year.

I also noticed the similarities between the big tattooed Maori lady and my mum. Maybe there is some Maori blood in us mum? I mean, you are pretty big (tall not fat), you cook an awesome roast and you have tattoos. Hmmm , something to ponder. Any good with a spear?

We also spent some time in the Polynesian spa that they have down by the lake. All the geothermal phenomenon around make it an awesome setting for spas and the Polynesian spa is rated among the top ten in the world. I just sat in the various eggy hot pools while Kate when for a mud polish or something like that. Basically we left very relaxed but stunk of eggs for a few days as it had permeated our skin.

We then headed north and stayed the night in Takapuna beach which is just north of Auckland. It felt very weird driving back through Auckland. I initially liked the place but on further travels around NZ you get to see just how everyone else here loathes it and the people who live there. They are affectionaltely called JAFFAs which stands for "Just another fucking friendly Aucklander" and relates to how Aucklanders are very demanding and unfriendly. Well, only by NZ standards. I guess it's the same with every big city in the world though but you don't want to be a JAFFA in New Zealand. Same as back home really were the term means you are unable to produce children.

Takapuna beach was nice though and we strolled along the golden sand, explored rock pools and i sat in the shade of the pehoutakowa (not sure on that spelling) trees and played my guitar to the waves. It was extremely relaxing. Pehoutakowa trees are also called Christmas trees as they bloom around now and have very vibrant red flowers. I guess that from a distance and with a little imagination, they kinda look like baubles too i guess.

So we are now in Whangarei again. We got here the other day and took Biff to get his WOF. He of course failed. He has a rough wheel bearing which isn't a big deal to sort but also has a lot of new rust from our days at the sea side. The rust failed him big time so we are having to get that sorted. Danny has hooked us up with some dodgy panel beater who reckons he can do it on the cheap for us. So we are without Biff for the weekend but Danny and Catherine have lent us one of their 3 cars. We went to the park the other day to kill a bit of time and i ended up saving a stranded dachshund from a stream! We were walking back to the car park when we heard this man cry out. I went to investigate and saw this elderly gent on his knees trying to get into the stream. I asked him if he was alright but he was clearly distressed. I went over and noticed his tubby little sausage dog had fallen into the stream and due to the steep banks was stuck. I jumped over the stream and crouched down to lift the poor wet dog out for the old guy. He was very appreciative and said he had a dodgy heart and feared he'd have lost his dog. I watched him for a while just to make sure he didn't keel over from the stress but he was fine and i walked back over to Kate. She was more interested in laughing at how i had jumped off a little ledge to go help the old guy and had slipped over and fell. She can be so immature sometimes! I saved a bloody dog! I felt a bit better about myself and even forgot about Biff for a split second. I'm sure he will be fine but it is just a huge pain in the arse for us. It means our 3 days stopover with Danny and Cat is now looking more like a week. They are cool about it all but i don't want to put them out. Danny has already spent time taking Biff apart to see if we could get away with just cleaning up and re greasing his dodgy bearing. They seem to be fine with it though.

It was Catherines birthday the other day so we went up toward Tutukaka and to a nice secluded beach called Sandy bay. It was awesome to be on the beach but sheltered by the huge pehoutakowa trees. Kate didn't even get burnt! I amused myself by making a sand sculpture of a stingray and a dolphin which both came out better than i expected. We then went to Woolleys bay again, the site of our body boarding exploits from our previous visit. We decided to stay in the car this time though as it was getting cold. Danny and Catherine braved the sea while we watched from the warmth of the car. I got involved in my ipod while Kate got distracted by a dog which meant we failed to notice both Danny and Catherine get caught in a riptide and dragged out to sea! They weren't dragged out too far and made it back OK so no harm done eh? Oops.

So we are here for a few more days then might head to the northern tip of NZ before heading back to the Coromendal peninsula for new year. We want to be in close proximity to Auckland so we can try and sell Biff. That is unless he fails his WOF again and i drive him off a bloody cliff!

Peace

D

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