Maori Village and Rotorua

 Yesterday we arrived in Rotorua at a house with a river in our yard. Me and Mom had hopped into kayaks and paddled all around the river. We even saw a black swan. Then we took the owners dog Marley for a walk. Marley was very happy and ran so fast that I fell over and let go of the leash. The next day Mom said there was a Maori village nearby and that we should go check it out. So we drove over there and walked around. First we looked at the kiwi bird exhibit. We didn't think we would see anything but when we walked in two big kiwis scuttling around! Then we saw the geyser. Our guide said it only erupted once an hour but  we walked in on a huge explosion of boiling hot water. It started raining but I couldn't tell because of the heat of the geyser. Below the geyser was a big pool of bubbling mud. Dad was getting annoyed by the stinky smell of sulfur so we walked to the Maori village. The village had lots of huts made of grasses were the Maori people lived. Some huts were made of wood and had Maori carvings on them. I could crawl into some of them.

 After seeing the Maori village we went to a Maori cultural event. First a Maori lady picked this guy in our group to be the chief of tribe. The chief had to go up to a Maori guy and pick up this fern. This meant we came in peace so the Maori let us into their meeting house. Then the chief had to bump noses with the Maori which was like shaking hands. Then the Maori started tossing sticks to each other in a circle. They said this was a fun game they played. Then the Maori women took out poi balls and started swinging them around like crazy. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better they took out 2 more poi balls and started swinging those around too! Then the Maori men took out long pointed sticks and started sword fighting each other with them! Then the Maori men danced the Haka or Maori war dance, which had a lot of foot stamping and sticking out tounges. Then the show was over. I had a great time at the Maori village!

Walking with Marley.

Me and Dad with the geyser.

Cool Maori Carving.

Maori dance.

Me and Maori girls.

Maori hut.

Maori storage room.



Another cool Maori carving.

Cool Maori dude.

The Penguin Capital of the World Where we Didn't See a Penguin

Today we drove from Glenorchy to Oamaru. Oamaru is supposed to be the penguin capital of the world. They have both a Yellow Eyed penguin colony and a Little Blue penguin colony. Yellow Eyed penguins are considered the rarest penguin in the world. We were on a mission to see this rare penguin. We stood at the viewing area looking out over the sea hoping to see the Yellow Eyed penguin. The wind blew in our faces making our teeth chatter. We stood there for an hour and saw a few things that may have been penguins in the water, but do not have complete conformation that they were  penguins because the kelp moved around a lot and looked kind of like a penguin. We did see a seal on the shore, but he had normal eye color. So Dad drove us to the Little Blue penguin colony. Unfortunately you had to pay to see the Little Blues and we had already seen them at the Wellington zoo. After  trying to find the penguins we decided to check out the town. The town had this park with a really tall slide. I slid down it about 40 times. Then Dad saw this old fashion car and an old street with a lot of old limestone buildings from around the 1860s. We later found out that they sometimes have Little Blue penguins just wandering down the street. They had an awesome bookstore that had a ton of books on Antarctica (where I want to visit someday) with an actual sailboat inside the store. We also went to a bakery that had great pastries and bread. I loved Oamaru.

Me with an old fashion Bug.

Old fashion bakery.

Nat and Dad Little Blue penguins.

Yellow Eyed penguin sign.

The lookout where the Yellow Eyed penguins are supposed to be.

Me and Mom by the old fashion bakery.

Glenorchy School

After the Ice Bar adventure we drove to Glenorchy, a very small town with a population of about 300 people. There was a small school there and Dad asked the principal if I could go there. She said I could come to school for one day, so the next day we walked to school and my parents dropped me off there. The school was so small that they put the grades k-2 in one class and 3-6 in another. Unlike at my school all of the kids take there shoes off before they walk into class. My teacher's name was Mrs. Unwin. She told the class that I was from California. Then she told the class that they were using Class Dojo for the first time, a program that we use at my school. After explaining Class Dojo we answered questions about the Chicago fire! Then the bell rang for afternoon teatime or recess. We all had to put on sunhats and then we headed for the playground to play lava monster. The playground is like a huge obstacle course with a zipline and swinging monkey bars. After recess we did maths (that's what they call math in NZ) and the bell rang again for lunch. I ate and chatted with my new friend Izzy. Then Mrs. Unwin said it was time to swim. We ran into the swim area and changed into our swim togs (our swimsuits). Some kids had to swim laps but I didn't. Once we finished swimming the bell rang and school was over. I had had a great day at school! 

Me by this Glenorchy barn.

A little hike in Glenorchy with a pretty view!



Me by our house.



Me in front of the Glenorchy school.

RAINBOW!

Ice Bar

Today in Queenstown my parents and I were eating some awesome tacos from Taco Medic when we realized that Taco Medic was right next to the Ice Bar. My awesome Dad asked the Ice Bar dude if I was allowed to go in the Ice Bar by myself and he said I was. This nice lady named Rose gave me a parka and gloves because the Ice Bar was -10 degrees Celsius. She opened the door of the Ice Bar and I walked inside. I could hear loud music playing. Rose gave me a glass of mango and pinapple juice in a cup made of ice. Even with gloves my hands were still cold. I sat down on a chair made of ice. There were animal skins on the chair so my bottom didn't freeze. There was a sculpture of two kiwis made out of ice and an air hockey table made out of ice. If you looked more closely you could see pictures carved into the ice chairs. There was an Olaf and Elsa sculpture in the corner of the room. There was a chandelier hanging on the ceiling made out of ice. Everything in the Ice Bar was made out of ice! When I was done with my drink Rose let me smash my ice glass against the wall. It was really cool to be in the Ice Bar!


Me in front of the Ice Bar.



Me in an ice chair.

Olaf ice sculpture.



Ice chandelier above ice mammoth sculpture.



Ice fireplace.



Inside Ice Bar view.

Ice kiwis sculpture and ice air hokey table.

Me when I came out of the Ice Bar (wearing kiwi mittens).