Life According to Pami This journal is about my adventures as a student film-maker in Auckland. Surrounded by kiwi's (the animals AND the cute feathered things); sheep; green-ness; and mountains, life in Auckland is full of surprising and interesting moments.

Florian and I decided to spend a couple of days in Rotorua during these holidays from school. Another excuse was that I didn’t want to spend my birthday in this smelly house in Auckland (more to come about that soon!). We left the house at about 8am and arrived in Rotorua at about midday. We checked-in to our hotel, the Prices Gate, and spent the afternoon wandering around the town centre. That night, we went in search for a restaurant we found on a tourist map. We decided to walk, which was a mistake, as it began to pour with rain. We couldn’t find the restaurant and it turns out it had been closed down. We then chose another one and had a good night. The next day was my birthday and we spent the morning Zorbing. We got absolutely drenched, as you can either be harnessed in or slide around in a puddle of water, but it was worth it! After that, we took a gondola (enclosed chairlift) up the mountain to the Sky Luge. We spent the rest of the day luging down the mountain and taking a chairlift back up so we could do it all over again. That night, we were picked up from our hotel and taken to a Maori Hangi feast and concert where we saw traditional Maori dancing and singing. That was followed by the Hangi, a traditional meal cooked over hot rocks underground. The meal was delicious and very filling. After dinner, we were taken to the Kiwi Encounter where we saw real Kiwi birds in their natural (although simulated) environment. They are so cute! I want one! But apparently they are endangered, so no kiwi as pets. We were taken back to our hotel after that and headed home the next day. It was absolutely pouring down with rain, something I’m getting used to, as Aussie’s don’t really see that much rain because of the drought. I was dreading the return to our rented house in Auckland, and alas, as we got home and I opened a cupboard, I was greeted by an army of ants crawling over all the food. Yay, a great welcome home present for us. Hurray.