Boxing Day

OK, so if anyone tells you summer in NZ is warm, laugh at them and remember that on the fourth day of summer we saw SNOW. OK, so we are on a mountain side in the Targariro National Park, but it has rained, hailed and snowed on us nonethless.

We were in Rotorua last night, right in the middle of some serious geothermal activity-we spent a nice hour in the hot spring water at our hotel while Thelma had a massage and got some of the “kinks” out from the last few days of getting on and off boats, in and out of many buses, through a limestone cave, and walking quite a lot. We tried to see a whole park full of boiling pools and geysers, but it being Christmas Day, most everything was closed. We did see some very gooey hot mud pools though.

Some interesting things about NZ:
“Mayonnaise” is really salad dressing.
They have two kinds of flushes on their toilets-half flush for just liquids and a full flush for solids. Very clever.
We’ve not seen one homeless panhandler (or even one with a home).
No one seems to know what the heck “Boxing Day” is, just that it is a holiday.
“Tomato sauce” is ketchup.
They will put sliced beets on your hamburger if you let them.
They put baked beans, corn or spaghetti on their toast!
Pasties are pastries, not those things strippers glue on their boobs.
A Quarter Pounder is called a Quarter Pounder, but a double cheeseburger is a Cheese Royal.
And a rocket is a type of dinner salad.

Despite some elaborate planning, Georganna has not been able to get into a quilt shop-they have all been closed for the holidays. Darn. Tonight we are at the Bayview Chateuau in Tongariro NP, Mt Ruapehu. Very ritzy place. just like the pre-WWII resorts. We witness times gone by here. You can look it up on the web. Today’s weather is too overcast for a photo to do it justice. Tomorrow is on to Wellington-home of WETA studios and the Lord of the Rings productions-the impetus for the whole trip.

TGT in NZ

P.S. We continue to be disappointed in the internet connections at the hotels. Sincer we are in Tangariro National Park there is quite literally no other facility. We are alone in the countryside. Therefore we are again at the mercy of the hotel to connect. We did post two photos today but we will be required to wait until we can find another internet cafe to post more incredible photos. Please be patient and keep checking this blog.