Kneel to Zorb!

On our way from Rotorua to Waitomo we stopped off to go Zorbing at Zorb Rotorua (map).  If you want to feel like a hamster, you can roll down the mountain in these huge semi-transparent double walled rubber balls with a geometrically symmetric internal visco-elastic band suspension system, they are light years ahead of the old tire down the mountain. They load you in with some "warm" water and push you down one of four different tracks on the side of the mountain.  Inside the ball the water acts as a lubricant so you just slide all over the inside of the ball as its bouncing along the path. Zane and I went down all four tracks together but it's pretty disorienting inside so Nicole opted to wait for us in the hot tub viewing deck at the bottom after our first ride all together. You can't see much when you're rolling at high speed, the water is splashing everywhere and Z and I couldn't stop laughing the whole way down. My abs were killing me afterward, great workout!

 

Once discharged from the Zorb ball we dried off and drove about 5 minutes down the road to a huge hedge maze, aMAZEme (map).  It took us quite a while to find the middle, Zane found it first. Getting back out and was definitely a fun experience, we had to go back in to find Z. With kids it would have been a great spot for a picnic, the grounds also included a bunch of other yard games and shaded tables with board games as well.

 

Back in the car for about an hour more when we stopped at Blue Spring which was a highlight of the day.  It was a 10 minute walk to the clearest most visual springs we had ever seen, amazingly clear blue water in the middle of the country side.  And to top it off there was a bunch of ducklings swimming through.  The pictures don't even do it justice. What a special place.

 

About half an hour later we did another stop at a large hanging suspension bridge (Arapuni Suspension Bridge) across a deep gorge which linked to a hydroelectric power station on the far side. Driving along the highway you never would have seen the gorge, it is this deep groove cut into the farmland surrounding it. Only once you stepped foot on the bridge did you see how far down it was.  I would have loved to take a tour of the station.  There were some placards near the stone entrance at one end of the bridge. They showed various ways the power station was protected during WWII. There was fear the Japanese were going to bomb it. The whole building was painted in camouflage and periodically during the day they would drive trucks down the road nearby that produced huge amounts of smoke to obscure the gorge below. Cool stuff. 

While on the road again and we patched Zane through to his buddy Conner in San Diego. He was very excited so the conversation was mostly one sided as he discussed his travels so far. But Conner was a good sport and you could tell he listened with interest. It was great for Z to chat with someone other than his parents for a few minutes, I think it made him feel important.

 

As soon as we checked into our hotel at Waitomo Top 10 (map),  Nicole and I went swimming and Zane met a buddy at the playground and spent the remainder of the evening hanging out with him.