boomers-on-the-road

JEFF: We rise early, pack the tent and speed south. We’re heading to Lake Rotorua and the town of the same name which literally is New Zealand’s hot spot. There are geysers and boiling pots everywhere. Even our motorcamp has one. “And we have heated tent sites as well,” the teenage girl behind the counter informs us, “for no extra charge.” Plus there are two hot tubs, a mineral bath and a thermally heated swimming pool. We’re in it for the lot! After dinner we get into our swim suits and stay up late sitting in the mineral bath talking to Kiwi, Spanish and Irish travellers about how great life can be. Following a relaxing slumber in our thermally heated tent we efficiently down breakfast then start on lunch. On preparing lunch, that is. Rather than pay $95 each for the pleasure of gorging ourselves at an ‘authentic’ Maori hangi, the equivalent of a Hawaiian luau, we are going to cook our own in the natural steam oven that is yet one more feature of this motor camp. We layer three sheets of tin foil then place sliced onion, chicken tenderloins, more onion, three types of kumara the indigenous sweet potato, apple slices, and carrot slices in an ordered pile. After sealing the foil around all this we place it on the grate in the oven and close the stainless steel lid. After a four hour exploration around town we return to unwrap a succulent lunch. Surprisingly, each of the different types of kumara has unique flavor and texture. We greedily sop up all the juices using about half a loaf of bread. LYNDA: Besides being a hot spot, Rotorua is a center of Maori culture. The Maori village is just a short walk away. Steam from deep inside the earth, vents out of fissures in the backyards of local homes in this Maori village. Bubbling and steaming creeks meander through neighbourhoods. Inlets of Lake Rotorua steam. Here beside the lake is the Maori church which is of Anglican denomination with services held in Maori. The inside of the church is well decorated with the intricate wooden carvings of tikis and symbolic Maori geometric designs. The Maori colours of blood red, black, green and white are selectively added to enhance the visual impact of the carvings. A colourful stained glass image of Jesus walking on water is positioned behind the altar. Outside the church the remains of an ancient canoe faces the lake. Across the small square, directly opposite the church is the marae. This is a sacred place for the Maori, a special meeting place and the seat of local Maori government. The marae is also a venue for wedding receptions for the Maori in this community. The front face of the building is elaborately caved with Maori images and painted blood red. We peer through the windows to see a large open space with walls completely covered with intricate wall grass and wood weavings and exposed wooden roof beams painted with intricate designs. This marae is opened only for community significant events. Close by another vent spews jets of steam from Mother Earth. Here near the central square is an art gallery – a Maori treasure house filled with carvings in kauri wood and greenstone plus other items of interest for locals and tourists looking to find that special memento. Greenstone is jade. There are two types of jade, jadeite and nephrite. The greenstone here in New Zealand is nephrite. Greenstone, also called pounamu, is carved into wearable art in the form of tikis and other culturally important Maori images. Highly prized by the Maori, greenstone is found predominately on the West Coast of the south island, high in the mountains. The tradition, we are told, is that greenstone is obtained only as a gift from another person. Now, that’s a great idea! Our walk through Rotorua takes us along the lake shore past gaping hole formations where more steam rises while other rock holes encircle bubbling mud. There is no scent of sulphur or rotten eggs, possibly due to the direction of the wind. The city’s Tudor-style museum is an impressive four storey building. Adjacent is the botanical rose gardens with a multicoloured display of roses. On we walk through the shopping section of town and stop in a corner grocery store where the proprietor is a jovial and talkative Fijian born man of Indian descent. He tells us of his long-term plans, and kava, the favourite drink of Fiji. Next is the city park where the grass lawn grounds are well peppered with fenced lakes. All of the lakes are steaming – what a great sight! JEFF: We spend the morning driving through the countryside around Rotorua visiting the fabled green and blue lakes which both look gray. Then it’s off to Taupo to visit friends Bob and Joan and sleep in a real bed. Lake Taupo is New Zealand’s largest lake. It’s one of the best places in the world to fish for rainbow trout and Bob is one of the best people to fish with. He’s not concerned with an early start because he fishes by the moon, even in broad daylight. “The moon will be right at about 1 pm today so let’s try to be on the water by about 10 or 11.” That works for us because we all have been staying up late sampling Joan’s fine cooking, such as smoked trout and pasta stirfry, and catching up on all manner of subjects. Bob loads his aluminum runabout with fly fishing gear and for us a couple of spin casting poles. Armed with one day fishing licenses and a hamper full of sandwiches we tow the tinny to a midsize Maori owned lake that Bob and a few others have special rights to fish. It’s windy so after floating the boat off its trailer we speed to a protected cove to set up the poles. “Since its windy let’s drift fish with flies.” Bob expertly whips Lynda’s pole to and fro then lays the fly gently on the water over 50 feet away. “Now keep the tip down and retrieve the fly a wee bit at a time making it look all natural.” Then he sets me up and we’re fishin’. It’s not long before Lynda has a fish on. She’s excited but keeps the pole up and the line taut, and soon Bob scoops up a very nice rainbow trout. “Do you mind if I release your fish? I think its good karma to give back the first one.” No worries! We continue to drift and cast. Both Lynda and I lose one, mine due to inattention, before I land a 21 inch rainbow. Lynda lands a 14 incher which we release before we move to another part of the lake for the prime fishing hours. After a quick lunch Bob has me drive until the depth sounder tells him we’re smack over a small drop off. In the next 2 hours I land a 3 to 4 pound trout, then Bob fishes for a few minutes and gets one. “That’s enough for me.” I take the pole again and land a shaker which we release. Lynda keeps getting strikes. At day’s end we have three large rainbows representing well over 10 pounds of fish flesh. Bob gives the caretaker one. “I’ll get the other two smoked and you can take them home.” I’m imagining a heaping plate of smoked trout stirfry.