Over the course of 4 days, we did a lot of driving through New Zealand. New Zealanders have a particular whimsical flair, and yes I'm odd, but I absolutely adored their roadsigns. Here's a brief montage of some of my favorites that we snapped out of El Heap's window along our travels:
On our fourth and final full day in New Zealand, we went down south to Rotorua. I saw a feature in our travel guide for "Kiwi 360" and I'd really wanted to go there, however the actual address was somewhat lacking in the book. We knew we were getting close according to the map, so Eric pulled into a gas station for directions.
Eric asked the guy, "Do you happen to know of a place called Kiwi 360 around here?" The attendant's response was simultaneously shocking and hilarious: "Oh yeah, of course. It's just up the road a bit. You won't miss it. It stands out like a dog's balls." When we traveled about five minutes further up the road, we found that while his description was rather crass, it was also fairly apt:
Kiwi 360 is an enormous kiwi farm (fruit, not birds). We experienced much of it in a heavy downpour of rain, but it was fascinating nonetheless. We learned that kiwis originated in China and were first marketed as "Chinese gooseberries," but that name was a fail with American consumers, so they were rechristened "kiwi fruit" which sounded more appealing and exotic. We were also surprised to find that--Tyler and Steph, this is for you--kiwi fruit grows on vines not trees.
We continued on to Whakarewarewa (try saying that three times fast) to the thermal village. The village consisted of small streams and hot pots that emitted a foggy steam. It reminded me of the geysers in Yellowstone. Really beautiful, really interesting, and really stinky. The whole place reeked of sulphur, but once you got past the stench, it was really quite enjoyable.
Eventually, we headed back to Auckland and bid a fond farewell to New Zealand! We both loved, loved, loved New Zealand and agree that it's one of the most beautiful places we've traveled.
Kiwi 360 is an enormous kiwi farm (fruit, not birds). We experienced much of it in a heavy downpour of rain, but it was fascinating nonetheless. We learned that kiwis originated in China and were first marketed as "Chinese gooseberries," but that name was a fail with American consumers, so they were rechristened "kiwi fruit" which sounded more appealing and exotic. We were also surprised to find that--Tyler and Steph, this is for you--kiwi fruit grows on vines not trees.
After leaving Kiwi 360, we continued our southerly travels to Rotorua. We loved the picturesque museum there. Eric is pictured below standing in an athletic field in front of it. He asked me, "Do you know what kind of a pitch this is?" He was not impressed with my immediate response of "Quidditch!" and he rolled his eyes and sighed, "No, it's cricket." (I think I'd have preferred Quidditch.) I also really enjoyed all the colorful poppies--they're one of my favorites!
We continued on to Whakarewarewa (try saying that three times fast) to the thermal village. The village consisted of small streams and hot pots that emitted a foggy steam. It reminded me of the geysers in Yellowstone. Really beautiful, really interesting, and really stinky. The whole place reeked of sulphur, but once you got past the stench, it was really quite enjoyable.
Eventually, we headed back to Auckland and bid a fond farewell to New Zealand! We both loved, loved, loved New Zealand and agree that it's one of the most beautiful places we've traveled.
1 comment:
Oh my gosh. . . laughing so hard I'm snorting about the "directions" you received for Kiwi 360. So funny! I lOVE your writing! CHARMING and I can hear you vocalizing all of it. Made me smile, made me HAPPY.
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