NZ Pictures Day 6 & 7

Day 6- Napier and the National Aquarium of New Zealand
*warning- many many fish pictures ahead*

mmphrg?

The Frying Dutchman? Ha!

Don't ask. I'm not sure.

We both have aquarium loves

I'm a sucker for shark stuff
(this is a warning)

How cool is this?

Purdy

Dirtbag is friends, not food

So a sea cucumber and a mollusk, no wait...

If Angela gets a dog I want a shark

Drum solo!
(get it? GET IT?)

If you look really carefully right in the center of the picture you can kind of see a kiwi. Long, narrow beak pointing towards your upper left corner.

I like turtles!

Really this picture is only here because I think I'm clever for having her show the scale.

Not posed. Ohhhhhh

Also not posed. Ahhhh

A travelator is a flat escalator which takes you through the magical undersea world

Cheese?

You don't say?

Seriously, this might be my favorite picture of the entire trip

Fresh baked bread

Nomnomnom

We will destroy you

Haha

This might be the coolest I've ever looked in a picture

Look honey, veggies!

The day's haul

Preparing for Christmas

Yeah, we brought a tiny string of lights too. Festive, damnit!

See what happens when I'm alone with the camera? You see?

Yummy yummy dinner. Might have been lamb.

Pretty sunset unaided by smog-enhanced coloration

Day 7- Lots of Scenery Pictures But Ain't it Purdy

It's Christmas!

Awww, we are freakin' cute!
*Warning: What follows is a ton of scenery shots because there was lots of driving on this day*

Christmas Day means everything is closed

Motorcycle sad...

More motorcycle sad...

You can see the road cutting through the mountain. So nice.

Have I mentioned the motorcycle sad?

Weee! (plus motorcycle sad)

Because we need more pictures of Captain Slow.

When we got to this campground and said we wanted a spot the guy said, "Eh, it's Christmas. Go find a spot." Score!

Hat by Wife. Good thing too, it got chilly.

Curious duck who visited during a group hang out

Christmas dinner with fellow campers, one Dutch couple (dude in the hat and the girl in gray) and one Belgian couple (the other two). All spoke English as well as you do...or better

Wine is for sharing and making new friends

Recording the day's adventures. Little did I know a small stone was about to ruin my night.

Dessert

The first purchased bottle of wine of the trip.

NZ- Thursday, 1/6

Thursday, 1/6- All Seasons Holiday Park, Taupo

This is it, the first last of the trip. Our last night in Captain Slow, last camping night. Tomorrow we push back to Auckland, return the Captain, and stay in a motel. I think/hope we are going to bus in to the city tomorrow night for one last night and to find a tattoo shop. No tattoo parlors in Taupo! Denied. An adult shop, but no ink slingers. This, by the way, is my sole complaint about Taupo. Could have done three or four days here, easy.

We walked to town, only 1.5km or so from camp, and hit the isite for info and postcards. I noticed the Taupo museum had a photo exhibit of the All Blacks called Hard on the Heels so we headed that way. $5NZ entry per person but the lady gave Angela the student rate of $3 and I begged, wheedled, and flirted my way to a $3 entry as well because I have 29 students.

The All Blacks gallery was very cool. No, I don't know much about rugby, but I did read an excellent book called Muddied Oafs about the sport over the last week AND I plan on caring about the World Cup. So I'm a poseur, but with good intentions. The rest of the museum was ok. Their fancy garden was underwhelming. But we did another museum. We are cultural, damnit!

After that we explored the lake's edge. Our guidebook claimed thermal springs in the area made the water warm. Angela would walk some meters along the shore, go to the water and dip a toe, and report the guidebook lied. We didn't understand.

The light bulb was supplied by a very friendly (is there any other kind?) Kiwi family who explained you have to get at least ankle deep in the water then dig your toes under the sand. Ohhh! Wow, what a cool feeling. That sand, only inches below the bottom's top, was hot! Like, only keep your piggies in there for a few seconds hot. By following the family we also found a spot where a hot spring actually did run into the lake . We could see steam coming off the water. The sand above the water line was hot. Crazy cool. Err, hot. I blew the husband's mind by walking on the hot sand.

Then it rained, but only for a bit.

We ate at LK's Fish and Chips and had, I think, the best fish of the trip. Perfectly crumbled. I told the lady so. Yum.

While there Angela and I discussed America's money and how here they always round to the ten cent. They have to, they have no nickel or penny. Why do we need pennies? Why should something cost $1.99? Make it $2, you aren't fooling anyone. We have worthless money. This is silly and should be abolished. Beware my coronation to Grand Emperor. Changes shall be made.

I found a good deal on a New Zealand bike jersey. The guy at the shop said it was kind of “touristy” but that's ok, I'm a tourist. Plus, it only looks touristy here. Back home it'll look cool because its a New Zealand cycle top.

We took a short hike which would have led us to a waterfall had we gone all the way, but it was getting late and we stopped instead at a natural hot spa off a river which feeds in to the lake. Again, this water was hot. Too hot, in fact, for the wife's toeses. I got in a cooked for a while surrounded by accents and various languages. *Soapbox Moment: Dear American Educational System, English is not the only language in the world. We should be encouraging bilingualism from early elementary school. Everyone else does. We look dumb all alone on our high horse, That is all.*

Once we got back to the holiday park we paid $5 and relaxed in their spa, which was a nice soak after a good day of walking. I feel I should note I wore my TrekSport VFFs until the hot sand lake until the friendly (is there any other kind?) Kiwi family, and then went barefoot from there on. I like this.

We (I) made friends with the nice Dutch couple camping next to us and offered them our unused foodstuffs. They took it gladly. Its nice to pay it forward. We also talked about our experiences and let them know the fun and interesting things we've found. Dutch people are very nice. They now have our spaghetti and produce in their Tigger and Piglet-painted campervan.

We aren't ready to be done. I'm pretty sure if we had three months we wouldn't be ready to be done. Guess a return trip is needed. Darn.

Stories Out Of School

We take a break from New Zealand Reports to bring you two short stories from the Classroom.

#1
I find myself funny when I'm teaching. I need to amuse myself or I'll get bored. Perhaps it works similarly for you in your job. So when I'm done explaining the lesson and I'm checking for understanding I'll ask my students, "Everyone understand?"
"Yes."
"Clear as mud?"
"Y... ," and then that wonderful expression of confusion comes over their faces. Some go so far as to hit me with the full-on quizzical dog head-tilt. (It's almost as good as when I'm taking roll and I say, "Ok, raise your hand if you're absent.")
"Wait a minute...mud's not clear!"
And before I can laugh or move on one will turn to another, "Well, now hold on just one moment. What kind of mud? Has it been raining? Average local precipitation levels would be a factor, don't you think?"
Another replies, "Very good point! Also, is it a large puddle or a small one? That would cause variations in mud density."
"What is the dirt-to-water ratio? That would surely impact the relative opacity of said mud. One would imagine that mud could, in theory, be fairly clear given the correct variables."
I try to intervene, "All right!"
Index fingers stab the air, "Hold on, Mr. Robertson. This is important. So, would you agree with my hypothesis that red dirt would yield a different consistency and, therefor visibility, of mud than, say, beach sand?"
"Without a doubt."
"I see. Well I've conducted a few thought experiments using my smart phone while we've been discussing this, as well as accessing mud-related articles via Google, and I think that the results will be quite surprising to us all."
And this is why a grown adult with a college degree says things like, "Hey! We are now done discussing mud clarity. Get back to work!"

#2
Yesterday I had this conversation with one of my...special kids. We'll call him Toby*.

Me: Why is there ink all over your hands?
Kid: *shrug*
Me: You don't know how ink got all over your hands?
Kid: I don't know when it happened.
Me: Where is your pen?
Kid: Oh yeah, now I remember. My pen leaked on my hands.
Me: ...Where. Is. Your. Pen?
Kid: In my pencil box.
Me: Is it still leaking?
Kid: Not all over the place.
Me: Not all over...is it broken?
Kid: Yes.
Me: Throw it away and go wash your hands.
Kid: Ok. *totters off*
A Few Minutes Later- Child comes back from the bathroom.
Me: Are your hands clean?
Kid: shows me the back of his hands! The side that never had ink on them!!


*his real name is Marcus*



*no its not, I'd get in trouble if I posted his real name online