Aussie Animals, Round 2!

Here's a hint if you're ever in Queensland - skip the Steve Irwin zoo and head to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary instead. At a fraction of the price, you will see just as many cute animals, and see way fewer Steve Irwins.

At first I totally thought this was an, ummmm, excited kangaroo...

...but it was a little Joey!!!

Here is a video showing how docile the kangaroos are. And how crazy my mom was about them.

Auckland and Rangitoto Island

Arriving back in Auckland, I planned on living the big city life (namely eating, drinking, and shopping) for the rest of my time there. But somewhere along my NZ travels, I developed a strong sense of outdoorsiness. I now just wanted to hike, see animals, and be one with nature. So I opted for a quick little hike on Rangitoto island, just a ferry ride away from the city. Rangitoto is an volcanic island which erupted probably just 600 years ago (and is hopefully not due any minute now). I figured it shouldn't be that exhausting, especially since I had conquered an entire rain forest and glacier just days before!! So I hopped on the ferry actually carrying shopping bags, thinking I'd just be going on a little walk. A little walk to the top of a volcano.

Once on the Island, I first took a look at some preserved Baches (little holiday houses) from the 1920s and 30s, then started towards the top of the island. Walking paths were littered with these pumicey turd like stones from former volcanic activity. It was pretty warm out, I had only a small bottle of water with me, and my shoes proved to be inappropriate volcanic wear for bunion sufferers. And it was a bit more of an excursion than I was expecting, probably because it was so hot out. So make sure you bring plenty of water! A bit over an hour to the top, but i finally made it.







I was half expecting the crater to be a hot and steamy deep hole that you could peer down into, see bubbling lava, complete with undiscovered tribesmen preforming a virgin sacrifice on the edge. But alas, this is what I saw. Funny enough, there was a picture of the same crater just 100 years ago and there were no trees on it at all. Weird.



After making it to the crater, you can continue to a lookout area with 360 degree views. Here you see a great view of the entire city of Auckland as well as other surrounding islands. Needless to say, the walk down was much easier.






Once back in the City, I headed to the observatory, which is in the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. In true New Zealand fashion, you can actually jump off of it. I passed.










Auckland, you're a great city, and I hope we meet again.

...back to Fox Glacier...

I nearly forgot! Along with the actual glacier at Fox Glacier, there is some beautiful scenery to check out in the area. Located 6 km from the glacier is Lake Matheson. And whenever you see the perfect picture of the perfectly picturesque lake with a picturesque snow topped mountain reflection, its most likely this lake. Absolutely beautiful. Needless to say, make sure you bring a good camera because you will get some great shots. Also, there will probably be several super cute photographer boys there with fancy cameras and tripods and you're gonna feel like a major loser with your Kodak Fun Saver Single Use Camera for Indoor/Outdoor Use.

Also needless to say, all of my Kodak Fun Saver photos came out over exposed. So here's Lake Matheson (thank you google).



To get to Lake Matheson, all you have to do is walk straight down this country road along several farms. Please note that the free maps at the Visitor Centre are NOT TO SCALE, but at least your Kodak Fun Saver works along the way!

Journey to Rotorua

After my adventures on the South Island, I flew into Auckland, the largest and most metropolitan city on the North Island. From here I took a day trip via tour bus to Rotorua. Of course, as per NZ bus trip standards, the bus trip was quite an adventure in itself.

First stop on the way to Rotorua was the Glow worm caves in Waitomo. I’ve never been in such a big cave before. Actually I don’t think I’ve EVER been in a cave. It seemed kinda fake (it wasn’t) and more like a ride at Disney world. Anyway, glow worms are actually larvae, which glow on cave ceilings to attract other bugs who think they’re flying towards the heavens. They then trap these bugs in their webs so they can suck out all their yummy bug juices. They’re also cannibals and eat even their own brothers and sisters once they hatch. (Unbeknownst to me at the time, once they hatch, these rare little creatures look remarkably like mosquitoes. I killed a couple in the bathroom right before the tour and prior to my glow worm education. Oops.) So we weren’t allowed to take any photos or even talk above a whisper once we were in the caves. Apparently these cannibalistic-mosquito-like-larvae are quite light and sound sensitive and we shouldn’t disturb them. And of course, they took advantage of this and tried to sell us a crappy photo. But they forgot about Start>Programs>Accessories>Paint. Suckers!

We were allowed to take photos once we were out of the cave. I got a few awful shots, reminiscent of the 2girls1cup phenomena. Gross.




Next stop on the journey was a real live sheep farm. I had so much fun on the farm – way more than I was expecting (but no, I will not play “farmville” with you on facebook). First, we went around and were constantly bombarded by animals apparently expecting us to feed them. Of course there were tons of sheep, but also ostriches, deer, pigs, and cows. (Side note – they actually farm deer in New Zealand for the venison. Bizarre. I saw quite a few deer farms just travelling, and also saw some stuffed baby deer in a Auckland souvenir shop window. Shudder. )








After petting lots of cute and stinky animals, we watched a muzzled, skinny, and probably very hungry little cattle dog chase some sheep around. Dog was so skinny it reminded me of our best childhood pal Wolfe (RIP lil buddy). But apparently that’s how collies are supposed to look when they’re actually working, and not overfed and pinned up in suburban yards. Or so they said on the farm. I prefer a chunkier collie myself.



Next up on the farm tour was a sheep shearing exhibit. I’ve seen this done on tv, but seeing it in real life, was…uuhhh shocking. and a bit scary. Kinda gave me the heebie jeebies…like when you see a woman give birth on PBS or something. Minus the miracle of life. Yuck.





Finally, at the end of our journey we arrived in Rotorua. Rotorua is a town situated on a live geothermic site, resulting in lots of geysers and lots of sulphur stinkiness. The word Rotorua, I believe, comes from the ancient Maori term roughly translating to “Fart City", and reminded me of a traditional Colby family reunion. (I kid, I kid.) All the geysers we saw were located on a Maori Arts and Crafts Institute where we were treated with AMAZING traditional song and dance. And of course, a gift shop.