Rotorua as a tourist

Last weekend Jenny and I went to Rotorua to be tourists.  I know, it was a bit of a weird experience for me because I am so used to going there to see Bro.  Don't worry we did call in to see him so I could show Jenny his place.  Did I give him a say in the matter, nope but I did let him know roughly when we would be going past so he could be out if he wanted to avoid us lol.  Pretty sure that is a kind little sister thing to do 😇😆

As I have been to Vegas many more times than Jenny, I was left to plan what to do.  Jenny wanted to do a maze which was good cos so did I, but other than that she left it to me.

First off we did the walk around part of the lake from Government Gardens to the Lake Front.  Very enjoyable and a nice little wander.  Then we headed off to the 3D maze, we picked that one because it is my favourite.  Also because the other one is a hedge one and with how much of nature is making me react in a not great way these days we thought it would be best to not have me stuck in a hedge for an hour or so.  The 3D maze was a lot of fun.  We did get lost a couple times, perk to being tall(ish) is being able to see over some of the walls on the upstairs parts so I could work out where we needed to go to get back on track.  We completed the maze, and found most the answers to the scavenger hunt properly (one was found by me looking over the wall lol), and had a great time.

We then headed back to our accommodation for lunch and to rest our tired legs.  In the afternoon we went to a cat cafe.  I do NOT recommend this experience.  I don't know what I was expecting but it was not what I got and I just felt sorry for the poor cats.  There were so many of them in the small space and no outdoor area.  Not even very many interactive things for them.  Jenny said it wasn't a good one, but that they are all pretty similar with the no outdoor area and lots of cats.  Definitely not something I support.

That evening we had dinner at our accommodation (same as the first night we were there, we were doing Rotorua on the cheap lol), watched a movie then had a dip in the hot tub/spa.  Many laughs were had and it topped off a great day.

The following morning, our last morning there, we detoured to find Fred a tyre cos she had had a something (I don't want to call it an accident or incident, but it was a something) at some point that required me giving her attention and money.  Typical female I know... 😜 After this we headed off to a 3D trick art gallery.  I wasn't sure what I expected from this but it looked intriguing online so we figured why not (it was also raining so we didn't want to do anything outdoorsy lol).  While we were wandering around I must admit I thought it was a bit lame and not worth the entry fee.  However once I got home and looked at the photos I changed my mind, it was totally worth it!!! The photos turned out awesome.  Everything was just 2D when we were there, but the photos are not.  Very cool.  Below are some of my favs. 

Overall I would recommend Rotorua as a tourist, however most of the activities are quite expensive now.  We wanted to do things that were below $30 and we achieved this, but it did take many many things off the table.  Doesn't mean I won't be back to do them some stage though 😊

The last days of holiday part 1

Ok just so you aren't confused real early on, the part 1 refers to the part 1 of my two weeks of holiday not to there being two parts to this blog post.  Cool, so we are clear now..? Sweet :)

Ystdy bro and I went and found the centre of NZ monument, which was on top of a hill (shock horror aye) and also turned out to not be the centre of NZ as such, but is the centre of Nelson district and Nelson district is the central district in NZ so they claim it or something like that.  The monument was so-so, nothing amazing.  And the rain on the way up didn't help.  It wasn't meant to rain, according to the weather report so you know a super trusting source lol, so that kinda put a damper on our plans for the day.  After heading back down, and making sure the boys weren't too wet (turns out Fishy was fine, Glenny and Big Ted were a tiny tad damp though) we decided to head back to the accomodation for a chill and some lunch.

After lunch I headed into the Suter Art Gallery as I was told by Helen (Station Manager for Fresh FM, our sister station down here) that it was worth checking out.  And I can say now that I agree :) it was very good, and the cafe was also very yum and relaxing.  It was a really nice way to spend a hour, just wandering around then having some cake and tea and a read of my book. 

After the art gallery I wandered around the park next to it, Queen's Park I think it was.  It was quite small but had some good surprising sections in it.  I also got chased by a goose, I think it didn't like me trying to cross the bridge by going through its territory.  And yes I ran away (well scurried more than ran) and found another path to take me to the bridge, cos I am kind and caring that way lol.

Today was a better weather day, finally.  We went and explored Richmond, which did not take very long at all, and then we went and explored a couple of parks in Nelson.  The first one was Miyazu Japanese Gardens, which were pretty cool and then we wandered down to Founders Park which turned out to be like Pioneer Village in Stratford, ie pretty cool.  Def a good use of a morning.  I also called into Fresh FM which are based in Founders Park and had a chat with Matt who was the only one in the office today.  Bro very patiently waited in the reception area while Matt and I chatted about station stuff and our issues etc.  It was actually quite a nice chat, as there wasn't really any time pressure like there is at CAMA get togethers and conferences.

This afternoon I wandered into Nelson and checked out the museum and wandered around the shops.  The museum was so-so, wouldn't say don't go but also wouldn't say make the biggest effort to go.  It was fun to wander around but I wouldn't have missed much if I didn't go.  In saying that their upstairs exhibits were shut so I could only see the Nelson District settlement side of things.  The shops were shops, nothing amazing though I did find a couple of good finds in an opshop :) Sadly I couldn't find any pens or similar small souvenirs that said Nelson to buy for friends, which was a pity.  I did find a few postcards so that will have to do.  Never realised how many of our souvenirs just say NZ, its not so fun when you are just traveling within NZ.  Although I did get a keyring from Suter Art Gallery that says Suter Art Gallery, another reason why I liked it hehe.

Tomorrow and Sunday are basically just travel days, so they don't really count as holiday days, I don't think any how.  May still find time to do something fun but may not.  Time will tell, as it usually does.  And then next week I also have off work, but I will be chilling around Hastings/Napier which should be good.  I don't really have any plans for it yet, got many things I would like to maybe do, but I may just end up doing nothing much.  I definitely have set building one evening, and Dungeons and Dragons another, and a quiz one night as well so I will be doing some stuff.... I will keep you posted if I do anything super exciting :)

Centre of NZ Monument

Suter Art Gallery (photos outside only)

Queen's Gardens

Miyazu Japanese Gardens

Founders Park

First try I got Fireman, then I rigged it so I got Stationmaster and was super stoked :)

So many boats in bottles, and this was just a teaser, there was a whole other room with more

Cape Farewell, Collingwood, Split Apple Rock and Abel Tasman National Park

Ystdy we drove up to Cape Farewell (Farewell Spit).  It was a long drive but a good drive :) Few too many one lane bridges for my liking and plenty of roadworks so you knew you were in NZ but overall it was a lovely trip.  We stopped and took photos along the way up and back.  And on the way up we stopped at MAD Cafe in Collingwood for lunch.  If you are ever up that way I highly recommend this place, the vibe was awesome, the artwork incredible (its the guys own artwork and I got a few cards with some of my fav designs), and the food was also very scrummy.  I got the veggie burger and it was super yum as, it was packed fill with so much stuff and all the flavours worked awesomely together.  There was also a black light art room which my hair apparently glowed in, it was a rather cool room as well.  After lunch we wandered up to the boat ramp area then headed the rest of the way up to Farewell Spit.

On the way back down we took a turn off to Abel Tasman National Park cos what is the point of being up there and not calling in to say hi to the National Park.  Along the drive there was a signpost pointing to Split Apple Rock so of course the driver (me) took us there.  And while the rock was pretty cool I would say it looked more like a split Easter egg than a apple but lets not be fussy.  I also just want to warn you that my photos do not do the rock justice, it looked way cooler in person.

After that small detour we headed to Abel Tasman National Park, didn't do a walk or anything but we can atlst say that we have been there now, and the boys have too.  They finally decided to get out of the car there for a photo.  No photo of them at Cape Farewell cos apparently it was too windy.... bears huh, so lazy (lol)

Lookout stop along the way

Collingwood

Farewell Spit

Some random mine walk we found and did

Random photo stop on the way back

Split Apple Rock

Abel Tasman National Park

Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre (again)

Today was icky weather (icky for us Hawke's Bay ppl, maybe not for ppl used to things like water falling from the sky....) and we decided to head over to Omaka to go see the Aviation Heritage Centre as we enjoyed it so much last time we were here.  And now they have a WWII exhibit as well as the WWI one, so obviously we went to see both.  And can I just say if you love biplanes like I do then you will be in biplane heaven in the WWI exhibit :) so many pretty biplanes, and some not so pretty ones but they are still cool cos they are biplanes and therefore just are.  Have decided when I win lotto I am going to build myself some biplane Squadrons, maybe many of them (though I will refuse to call them a Group even if I get that many cos that is a dumb name).  Definitely think the world would be a better place with more biplanes in it :)

Even learnt a few things, turns out reading the stuff they put around the place is actually informative, who woulda thought lol.  Didn't read a lot of the WWI stuff cos read that last time, but one of the things I don't remember from last time that I did read this time was by the display of poppies and it turns out that purple poppies are for the animals (mainly horses) that lost their lives in a war so I think I might start wearing one of those as well as a red one round Anzac Day.  Also read some of the WWII stuff, and have a book or two to look for now.  Discovered that the Soviets let females fly and fight and so there are a couple females I now will look into a bit more, as well as the Night Witches which were a flying team of females, and yes I got the t-shirt hehe.  Also learnt that way more Soviets soldiers died than I ever thought, which is rather sad.  Also relearnt that I would suck in a war cos I am not a fan of being 'bombed' even if that bombing is just loud noises and a slightly vibrating room, and I know actual bombing would be way worse hence the me sucking at war.

Anyhow it was a good day, mostly just chilling and driving with some exploring and wandering around looking at planes :) nothing to complain about there :)

Just so you guys have an idea of the 'delightful' weather we had

WWI Exhibit

The poppy wall (each panel has a purple poppy on it)

A selection of my fav biplanes and scenes

Yes I even found a triplane that I thought looked rather cool

WWII Exhibit

This jigsaw looked a little horrible to do, check out the shape of the pieces...

Spitfire pic for Doffy

See even in WWII they knew that biplanes were cool hehe

This is Lydia (or Lilya) Litvyak, Female Fighter Ace and Hero of the Soviet Union (as her info card says), she's one of the ones I am going to look into more 

This is from the final scene which was real cool, spent a while trying to get the perfect picture (which I didn't get), one of the info cards also talked about planes that were crashed in remote locations and what the efforts have been with regards to salvaging, restoring etc. and that was rather interesting as well.