Up with the alarm at 6:45, Jer just managed to get his trousers on when breakfast arrived. Failed to get the “cyber café” (one PC with a modem) working, but managed to get in a quick round of mini golf before the bus arrived. (Jess roundly trounced Jer (well, not entirely sure about that, but she probably got a better score -- which is shocking, considering that she’s normally abysmal at it. [It’s not shocking at all, nobody claimed that Jer was not abysmal.]).) The lady at the hotel claimed that a taxi would be about the same as the shuttle bus, but the lady at Whakarewarewa said the same thing, and the taxi was about 3 times as much as the bus. We opted for the shuttle bus.
Arrived at the airport with plenty of time. Rotorua Airport is in the process of being enlarged to twice its current size. Seems pretty essential, since the tourist trade is booming, bus service is indirect, and they cancelled train service a couple of years ago. Anyhoo, the only consequence of the constriction was that the shuttle driver was annoyed about the parking, and that they dinged us for an additional NZ$5 airport construction tax. Wasn’t until we got on the plane before we realized what was really odd: there was no security at the airport. No metal detectors, no baggage x-ray, nothing at all. Guess nobody wants to hijack/bomb dinky NZ shuttle flights.
Our flight to Wellington took us over everything from farms to forests and snow-capped mountains, past sandy beaches, etc. They sure pack a lot into a smallish island. One thing that struck Jer was that there was ocean visible on both sides of the plane, despite the fact that the island isn’t particularly small at the bottom. Also that the tea wasn’t absymal. Go Air New Zealand! NZ might have been part of the Empire, but they make tea like Americans.
After checking in at our hotel, the Victoria Court, we had lunch at Kopi, a Malaysian restaurant (and espresso cafe). Jess started with Lamb Murtabak (roti [bread] filled with minced lamb and veggies). Jer had Dalca Kambing, a goat and vegetable soup. Yummy, but it’s pretty clear that you want to have goat in soup or curry. Also, the meat was on the bone, and Jer was annoyed that Jess didn’t want him to gnaw on the bones. We split Mee Goreng, a seafood noodle curry, as the main. It was good, but we were too full to finish it. Upon leaving, Jess was randomly able to give directions to some nice lady. (After being in the city for, like, an hour -- not bad!)
Shopping was done, prezzies were purchased (both for us and other people). NZ$50 international shipping charges were balked at. Lots of humping for us, the carrying kind. Gloves and hats were also acquired, as it was looking as if our good weather might not hold.
We stopped by the hotel to drop off our stuff, then we were off to the Botanic Gardens. Unfortunately, the Begonia House, which houses the orchids, closed at 4:00. Back through the gardens, down the cable car, and back to the hotel to do laundry.
Jer kindly offered to do the laundry, and set off with the dirty clothes. It was only after he put the clothes in the dryer and went off to pay the NZ$2 fee that he and the proprietress realized that he was using the staff laundry -- the guest facilities are coin-op. The lady was very nice and allowed him to finish, and even refused payment. It seems that she had a soft spot for NYC, having run the disabled version of the marathon...pushing a wheelchair!
Laundry done, we headed off to dinner at Roxburgh Bistro. We had a starter of excellent french country bread and avocado oil. You know, it’s really rare to find a restaurant that puts in the effort to make really excellent bread. Roxburgh Bistro does. Avocado oil tastes very fruity and, well, green. A lot of NZ gourmet food shops tout it, and it’s pretty tasty. For mains, Jess had steak frites with béarnaise sauce. First off, it was about 3 inches thick. Secondly, it was cooked to perfection. Jess ordered it medium, and it was a lovely dark pink the whole way through, with a nice crust outside (but no blood). Finally, it was “beyond tender.” The only way Jess can describe it is “soft.” It was magnificent. Jer had the 5 spice duck. After some discussion with the waiter and some tasting, he opted for a shiraz (from up north in OZ). Though not generally a big fan of shiraz, this one was very good. The duck came with shiitake mushrooms, wilted bok choi, mashed kumara, and chutney. Quite a range, yet they complemented each other perfectly. He liked it better than Jess’s steak, which is quite a statement.
For dessert, Jer had a rhubarb creme brulée with mandarin slices and passionfruit ice cream. It was merely very, very good. Actually, the ice cream was magnificent. Jess had a chocolate mousse with cream and rasberry sorbet. The mousse and sorbet were excellent, and not too sweet. Her dessert also came with a small block of russian fudge, which was too sweet (even for Jess).
At this point, it was way past our bedtime, and Jess was getting quite silly. Had a nice chat with a young man from Winnipeg who had been in NZ for 13 years. Apparently people still give him a hard time for not speaking like a Kiwi (though he sounded convincing to us). Got a cab home and fell into bed at 11:00.