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Day 19: Rotorua

 


Today my main activity is a zipline canopy tour, but it does not start until 12:30 so after checking out of my AirBnB I found a cafe to get some brunch and work on my blog posts. I ended up at Urbano Bistro Cafe and Restaurant which turned out to be a perfect spot. There were a few tables occupied; a mens group was having a social hour and someone was working on a laptop, and a few couples were dining. I had the most delicious eggs Benedict and a latte and sat and ate and worked for a bit until it was time to head to the zipline. 


In both Australia and New Zealand, it is not customary to tip in restaurants. This also leads restaurants to be structured a bit differently. In some, you first order at a counter and pay and then either take a number back to any table you choose where they’ll bring you your food or take a buzzer that lets you know when to come back up and get your food. In others, you are seated and order from your table but then at the end of the meal you go up to the counter to pay (rather than a waiter bringing your check to the table). It’s a little disconcerting to get up and leave the table without paying - the trust they have that people will come up to the counter and pay for what they had is surprising. Then again, when we flew from Sydney to Cairns and back, not once did they check our IDs and their airport security is a fraction of what ours is in the US. 

I left the restaurant (after paying for my meal) and checked in at the zipline office building. There were four other people in my tour group and after we were weighed we got our gear on. We got to borrow a jacket since it was a bit wet and drizzly that day, and they also had gloves and beanies but I brought my own. We of course also needed a harness and a helmet. Then we all loaded into a van with our 3 guides to drive a short distance to the Dansey Reserve where we would be zip lining. The other 4 tourists in my group were visiting from Australia, although one of them was originally from New Zealand. 





In addition to giving us tips about zip lining, our guides also gave us information about the conservation work their company does for the forest. Mainly this involves removing invasive species like rats and possums. One of our guides even helped re-design their current method to be more efficient. We also stopped at a few places along the way to feed the birds! 


After the canopy tour, I drove north to Tauranga where I would be staying 2 nights in the cutest garden studio apartment. As I was driving, it continued to drizzle but that evening (after I was tucked in, thankfully) it began to rain in earnest and the winds got up to 24mph! Luckily, I was in the perfect spot to just stay in and listen to the storm. 




Comments

  1. Jeanne DeMatteoAugust 22, 2022 at 12:30 PM

    What a great day. I am so impressed that you held that worm in your hand for the bird. The bird came to you cautiously and picked up the food more gently than Rosie gets her treats! But, I would have been more squeamish about the worm in my hand.

    ReplyDelete

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