After breakfast, Brenda drove me back to the Park Towers Hotel where I would begin my 12 day journey through New Zealand with Contiki. We said our goodbyes and I went into the hotel to find a crowded waiting area of other people and luggage all over the place. We boarded the Volvo coach with the trademark Contiki logo and rainbow on the side and we were off. Gavin, our tour manager, welcomed all of us newcomers who were just joining the tour, and proceeded to play our morning song, "I'm Outta Love" by Anastacia, which we would hear first thing every morning on the coach.

As rain started moving in, we headed up to Mt Eden, a dormant volcano in Auckland. We had a great view of the city from the top of the volcano. We then headed back down and into the city and stopped off at the harbour. Anyone who was interested in going up the Sky Tower went with Gavin as the rest of us wandered around the city, some desperately looking for a place to have some breakfast. Introductions were made all around for the many of us new to the tour. People on the tour came from all over the world, the majority coming from Australia, and others from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, and New Zealand.

A couple of hours later, we boarded our coach where it had dropped us off at the harbour, and we were on our way to Rotorua. As usual, we did the passenger introductions, with each person going up to the front of the coach and with microphone in hand, had to introduce themselves to everyone on the coach. We had to state our name, where we were from, what we did for a living (anyone unemployed was to get a cheer and applause from everyone on the coach), the one thing we are most looking forward to doing on the trip, and either our most embarrassing moment or if we were on a safari (as in single, available, and "on the hunt").

Before arriving in Rotorua, we stopped at the Agrodome for a farm show. It showcased several species of sheep, in which their population numbered around 45 million in New Zealand. There was also a sheep shearing demonstration, a farm dog whistling demonstration used for herding sheep, and a cow milking demonstration, including audience participation. Leanne from our group got her chance to milk one.

We were then back on the coach, and a couple of hours later, arrived in Rotorua. We then had a chance to partake in the gondola and luge rides at Skyline Skyrides. We rode four person gondolas up a hill and from there we got a pass for two luge rides partway down the hill. The luge was a cart that you sat in, very close to the ground and handle bars are used to control your steering and braking. Gravity essentially controls your descent down a track and pulling back on the handle bars allows you to brake. There were two courses to take: a leisure track and a more advanced track with sharper and more twists and turns, a narrower track and steeper grades.

After a couple of hours, we took the gondolas back down to where the coach would meet us and were on our way to our overnight accommodation. We arrived at the Kiwi Paka, a large youth hostel consisting of several dormitory-like buildings, a bar, a restaurant, and a pool, heated by the geothermal activity that Rotorua is famous for in New Zealand. It was located outside of the main city in a fairly rural area. Unlike on my past trips, I had to share a room on this one. But unlike most other shared rooms, which are usually assigned up front and remain the same for the entire tour, a rooming list is passed around on the coach everyday and we sign up our names for certain rooms, so potentially, we could have different roommates every night (same sex, unless you came as a couple and booked a double room). This was actually not as bad an idea as it may sound because this way you have more opportunities meet more people on your trip. For this night, I was rooming with John from Queensland in Australia, and Damien from the Australian island of Tasmania. After checking in, Damien went right for the thermal heated pool while John and I went down to the bar for a couple of drinks before our Maori Hangi-style dinner. There were several other people from the tour that were thinking the same and more introductions were made all around.

The dinner was good, but many of us found it difficult to believe that it was an authentic Hangi-style meal. There was a wide variety of food on the self-serve buffet tables, so there was at least something to cater to everyone's tastes.

Around an hour after dinner, we headed off down the street to attend a Maori concert, called the Haka. The Maori are the original native settlers in New Zealand, who have a rich history and culture in this country. It was a very interesting display of Maori song and dance, and a very nice insight into their culture. We learned the Maori custom of touching nose to nose as a friendly greeting, as well as the verbal greeting, "Kia ora." At a couple of points during the show, people from the audience were welcomed to participate in the dancing, some of who really got into the spirit of the dance with the full arm and facial gestures.

Me and Colleen on Mt Eden

Sheep shearing demonstration at the Agrodome

Sheep on display at the Agrodome