NOTE TO EVERYONE: I promise pictures again as soon as one of the computers has uploading capability.....
We are visiting Waitomo now and went into two caves with the Spellbound tour yesterday. The first was really cool and had glowworms all over the roof. It looked like constellations over the boat. We floated in a boat down a stream about 50m underneath the surface. We were floating along an underwater stream in a rubber dinghy. There were 9 people altogether, but no one talked hardly at all, and then in hushed tones. We had no lights and were travelling with only the glowworms lighting up the ceiling. It was just the kind of place where you are naturally quiet, I guess.
We then went into a second cave which had a much different feel. It was much more of a normal tourist cave with electric lights through and a man made walkway through the whole length. The interesting aspect was that there were three places where there were holes up the 50m to the surface where you could see the forest above. Apparently the whole area is riddled with 300 cave systems and there are these holes in the forest which would give little or no warning to any animal or human. There were several sets of old bones in the cave including one of an extinct Moa bird. There are other companies where you can repel down into caves then go on inner tubes. You have to be 12, so Heather being 10 saved us from that! There are also companies which take you into much more adveturous, actual spelunking caves -- for these you have to be 15. We enjoyed the ones we did, but you can't help thinking about all the other companies and whether they take you into better caves......
Today we are in Rotorua and we spent the day at the Agrodome. It was good for a spinner like me to see 19 different sheep breeds on stage at once. The commentator also sheared a sheep on stage. There was a hokey show to go with it that the kids lapped up. They also had a 100 year old carding machine from Huddersfield in Yorkshire, England. We hung around and watched them fire it up. It could apparently process an average fleece every 15 minutes, 24/7 in it's youth.
The real highlight for the kids was the ZORB. It is basically a human sized hamster ball full of water that they roll you down the hill in for a mere $30 ($77 if three people go in together). Alan, Jacob and Heather went in. I am suffering (AGAIN) from dysentry so I didn't think my stomach could handle it. We paid for the photo CD for another ($25) -- another reason I would like to upload pictures to defray the cost by amusing some of my friends and family...
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Very interesting about the flower show. I was at Canada Blooms, which is this year the Land of Stone Patios (gazebos taking a back seat). More Astroturf and potted daffodils than ever, fewer actual gardens. Phoo.
Then last week I had to cover Fashion Week, so I am recovering - shaking gently still but very much on the mend - from six tumultuous days of free poisonous vodka drinks, free makeup, free hot meals, free chocolates, painful shoes and the sense of being surrounded at all times by gigantic sticklike people. Lots of nice clothes tho.
As this is the St. Patrick's Day weekend, we've just passed my personal Winter Milestone. I figure if you can make it this far, you'll get the rest of the way to Real Spring. I hear blue jays in the garden, and I've been trying not to get too excited yet about the little green shoots poking up through the ice, but really it's only about four weeks until flower time.
Meanwhile I suppose you're all getting very tired indeed of flowers, with orchids and birds of paradise and lilies and whatnot on every side no doubt. Hmmpphh is all I can say.
I want to hear a lot about wool and sheep.
Love to all four of you!
Sarah
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