The Road to Rotorua - November 13

Well, folks, I am not very happy at the moment. I have been working on today’s post for three days now and I had imported lots of photos, and something happened - I don’t even know what - and it all got deleted. My research says there is no way to retrieve it. I’m going to try to reconstruct it quickly and then maybe in my free time I can add more detail. The formatting may be a little rough.

We felt good to go on Monday morning after a day of rest, and a good night’s sleep. Today we will go to Rotorua, with two fabulous stops on the way.

Our shiny new motor coach had comfortable seats and lots of legroom. There was a good microphone system for Gavin to use so we could all hear him. Our luggage was brought down by a porter and we each had a chance to check that our own luggage was there before it was loaded onto the bus. The bus picked us up at the front door of the hotel and away we went. 

The pacing of the day was excellent. The stops were timed well and we we had a chance to walk quite a bit at our first stop.

Hamilton Gardens

Our bus dropped us off right at the entrance to Hamilton Gardens where a tour guide awaited our group. She led us through a series of about 20 wonderful enclosed gardens. Each one seemed like it was the only garden as we followed a hub-and-spoke pattern through the property. They were grouped into three major thematic sections. Here are some highlights.

•    PARADISE GARDENS

    The Paradise section demonstrates different perceptions of a garden paradise on earth.

Japanese Garden of Contemplation (14th-16th Century)

Indian Char Bagh Garden (16th-17th Century) 

Italian Renaissance Garden (15th-16th Century)

• FANTASY GARDENS

Tudor Garden

Surrealist Garden

• PRODUCTIVE GARDENS

Ancient Egyptian Garden

Maori Garden

• OTHER

An Astronomical Calendar

A Tropical Garden

We ate lunch at Hamilton Gardens, where the cafe uses produce from its Kitchen Garden, Herb Garden, Maori Garden, and Sustainable Backyard Garden to supply the cafe as well as local food pantries.

The National Kiwi Hatchery

I loved visiting this facility. I learned so much, and I was reminded of the beauty and wonder of life and nature. How amazing it is that any of these fragile birds have survived. 

Taxidermied specimens

We did not see kiwis running around in a pen or sitting in cages - they are released shortly after they hatch. We only saw one for a few seconds from the other side of a glass window, as a technician held it (photos not permitted).

We spent over an hour talking with our guide, who is incredibly passionate about the work of the hatchery and so full of knowledge. 

I was interested to finally see a taxidermied model of the New Zealand possum I have been hearing about. It is one of the top predators of the kiwi, along with the dog, the feral cat, and the stoat (none of these predators are native to New Zealand). It turns out that the possum that is causing such a problem here in New Zealand is not the same creature as the American opossum, The New Zealand version has soft fur that is combined with merino wool (for strength) to make very soft yarn.

Photo by Northland Regional Council

Not everyone in our group liked the Kiwi Hatchery, and thought we spent too much time talking about eggs, but I loved it. Not everyone in our group likes Division 1 Basketball either, but some of our group members talk about it a lot.

Before we arrived at our Rotorua hotel, we were told by Gavin that it was a Sheraton in the 60’s or 70’s and it still looked like a Sheraton from the 60’s or 70’s. (It is now called the Distinction Rotorua.) He was right. It wasn’t the best hotel. In fact, in our room the toilet seat was not attached to the toilet, and had not been for a long time. We had to go through a series of negotiations with the staff until they gave us another room. They wanted us to wait until the following day, when they would have someone come out and fix it. Not on your life. They said they didn’t have another room, but suddenly they did. The new room was no prize, but at least you could sit on the toilet without worrying that you and the seat would slide off.

It’s a long story for another time, but apparently most of the hotels in Rotorua are old and dilapidated. 

Today’s fabric is Kiwi Bird of New Zealand Cool Sage Green - Large Scale, by illaberek.