We tried to enjoy the playground at the RV Park in the morning but everything was wet. So we packed up and headed to Huka Honey Hive I’d heard it was an interactive bee exhibit. But it turned out to just be a honey gift shop with small bee keeping outfits the kids could try on, and the Bee Movie playing off to the side. Not quite what I was thinking. đŸ˜•
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We also went back to Lava Glass. The glass blowers were making vases already. It was a great set up. We sat on benches and got to observe every step of the process. They’d answer questions when they could and there were informative videos playing as well. We stayed and watched the whole process. It was about 45 minutes. The kids were really into it as well since we’d just studied the glass sculpture in Sea-Tac.
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Then we left Taupo and drove about an hour to Rotorua. This seems to be a big tourist adventure town. So we joined right in! We went straight to Skyline Rotorua and signed up for a gondola ride and three luge rides. The kids sat in our laps as we zipped down the hills. We rode a chairlift back up and did it again! It was a total blast and the view of the city from the top was beautiful.
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The other activity we really wanted to do in New Zealand was to Zorb. Basically throwing yourself down a hill, in a giant inflatable ball! So we went straight to the original source, ZORB. Unfortunately, due to new standards you have to be six years old to ride. So L was out of luck. Cue to tears, since we’d been taking this up. But all was quickly resolved with a cheap ice cream cone, thank goodness! Ty, R, and I changed into suits and jumped in one as quick as we could. They filled it with warm water to help the swishing capabilities. Then we barreled down the hill on the straight track! You definitely need to be ok, with constant water in your face. (Not my favorite) Other than that it was super bouncy and a lot of fun! They have a hot tub set up so you can warm up after your roll. L got to join us in there, while Ty and R decided, they wanted more Zorb. They signed up for the curvy course this time. So back up the hill they went. That one bounced them all over the ball so the inside zipper was a bit rough R said. Ty had a blast, but R said it wasn’t as fun. Definitely one for the bucket list, which we will have to do again when L is old enough!
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We drove to the free camp spots in town. It’s literally just a parking lot right by the sulphur springs. It stunk! We left the RV and walked to a playground. Let the kiddos run around for a while before we walked into town to find dinner. Thankfully we can across the Rotorua Night Market. This only happens every Thursday. We were able to try sushi, Korean food, steamed dumplings, pad Thai, chicken skewers, cronuts, chocolate cake, and baklava! It was all so yummy!
We walked back to the RV in the dark and cold. Tried to set the heat and realized our secondary battery was dead. Again no heat! Ty was PO’d! The RV company got a very terse phone call that night and had another one coming in the morning. We packed up and drove straight to an RV site so we could plug in for the night. L passed out on he way there. Both kiddos were so tired from a very fun and full day!
