Rotorura, NZ + Marginal Adventures

We've safely departed the Big City of Auckland (only about a 1mm people and constitutes nearly 1/3rd of the Kiwi population) for Rotorura. It's a big tourist destination that a motel owner in Auckland claimed was "too touristy." This person clearly hasn't seen hard-core American touristy areas like DisneyWorld or Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

Rotorura is famous for a large lake, which is the result of an extinct volcano and some volanic springs. We're staying in a campground, where we have the "nicest place in the premises." It's $39NZ a night, which is about $20US per night. Apart from having to share a communal bathroom, it's nice and offers hot-spring baths.

My big brain fart so far is the engagement of two activies. First, we're taking a two-week sailing class in Auckland beginning 2/1/03. It lasts two weeks from the "world famous" Penny Whiting (http://www.pennywhiting.com/). After that, we're chartering a sailboat that we'll sail ourselves in an area called the Bay of Islands. Our boat will be a 29.5 foot monohull from the Sunsail corporation (http://www.sunsail.com/brochure/bareboat/bareboat_intro.cgi?languageid=us&origin=2&rescode=nzbi). It'll be a thrill!

Not much other excitement happening. Shandelle is very helpful in reminding me to drive on the left side of the road. It's interesting how isolated one also feels here. The combination of timezone and distance mean that we're very far from home.