Daily archives: January 3, 2008

03/01/08
Hi friends! ActiveSteve here again. Well, you might start thinking that I’m getting lazy with all these days off, but you know what? I came here to experience New Zealand, not just thrash myself biking all around it, so that’s just what I’m doing in Rotorua. Today was my day full of cultural experiences of the Maori civilization. It actually started a little last night with a self-guided city walking tour I went on that took me to a Maori village in town. Today, I continued that theme by going to Te Whakarewarewa Marori village, the Rotorua Museum, which had oodles of Maori stuff, as well as my evening at Mitai Maori Village for a concert, nature walk, and traditional Hangi meal cooked by Maoris. Although I’ll probably keep the post relatively short, the experiences were nothing short of remarkable, and memorable. Or at least I hope they’ll be. Tomorrow, I’m sticking around, and planning to do some serious mountain biking in Whaka forest, where the Worlds were this year. After that, off to Taupo. Check the map and read on for more.

02/01/08
Howdy gang! I hope everyone had a brilliant New Year’s Eve and New Years Day celebrations. As you would have read in my last post, today, it was back on the road for cyclin’ Steve. My destination for the night was Rotorua, which is one of the major tourist destinations in New Zealand. Basically, in the South Island, it’s Queenstown, in the North Island, it’s Rotorua. As such, I have pre-booked 3 nights in the “In the Zone” backpackers hostel here. I’m in a 4-bed room, with 2 other guys, one of whom is here only to bike. So, what’s so good about Rotorua? Well, heaps I guess. The whole region is basically a hotbed of Geothermal activity. You can’t walk far without tripping over hot springs and the like. Also, it is a mountain biking mecca, having hosted the world mountain biking championships this year. And lastly, this is the prime area for Maori culture. So, as you might guess, I’m wondering if I need a third full day here as well. Read on for more about my ride into town, and first evening here. Check out the map too.