Rotorua

We stayed up at Blue Lake for 4 nights which is just outside of Rotorua. It was a really pretty spot and was right next to Redwood where all the magical biking is! We could bike from our campsite which was definitely a bonus. The other nice part is it didn't stink up there... Rotorua is known for its geothermal activity which makes it one stinky city. It smells like sulfur or rotten eggs and, depending on the wind, can be pretty rough.

We got in 3 awesome bike rides during our stay here. The first day we decided to bike up ourselves without using the shuttle service. It's not a crazy climb but after a few laps I was dead tired! Keegan and I both enjoy the climbs but unfortunately no one else in Rotorua does so they don't have any climbing trails, just a gravel road. The next 2 days we took the shuttle up which was sweet since we could check out some different trails a bit quicker. These trails are fun! They are fast and flowy, with a lot of berms. I think my favourite trail so far was Billy T:). They have a ton a trails named after Rocky Horror Picture Show for some reason which I thought was awesome! Keegan had never seen the movie so I made him watch it Haha. Well, we watched most of it... he did not like it.

We got in some more great visiting with Lana and Luke too while we were here! Was nice to hang out and relax with them while Keegan was busy with school stuff. We went to look at boiling mud in the park and hung out with Blair (luke's brother in-law) and 2 kids which was... chaos Haha but great! Nice reminder of work;). Since there is a lot of Maori culture in this area, we decided on a cultural evening out and went to a hangi. Basically a feast where they cook food with steam under the ground. Keegan was our Tribe's (at least 100 ppl) Chief for the night! He had to accept the peace offering and ask on our behalf if we could dine with them (Maori ppl) for the night. He did great! He was the center of attention and in everyone's pictures, all of his favourite things! (Just kidding, he hates all that).

Sad to only get a few days with Lana and Luke but still so cool to get together with friends while in NZ. And I'm sure there will be more Saunder's family visiting in our near future:)Weiterlesen