New Zealand Redwoods

I started my day in Rotorua by going to a farmers market with a friend I met in my hostel whose name I can't remember. Let's call her Sam. Sam is a kindergarten teacher from Japan, and she and I wandered the market. She got really delicious dumplings, and I ended up with fry bread with jam, honey, and butter. I wanted to buy some kiwis and feijoas, a sour, soft and slightly sweet fruit, but they weren't ripe yet and I would be moving on to the next city by the time they were ready to eat. Sam noticed a Maori man that had the traditional facial tattoos. It was very interesting to see and I wish I had learned more about the practice while I was in New Zealand.

Next, we took a walk along lake Rotorua. The lake is also geothermal with lots of sulfurous gas rising from the water. There were lots of native water birds bobbing in the water, including black swans that make the cutest cooing noises. The lake was very clean and I didn't see any litter on our walk around it.

After taking pictures with the Rotorua museum, we stopped at Lady Jane's ice cream shop, a very famous spot, for lunch. I got kiwi fruit and honey flavored ice creams. It was really delicious.

We attemped to find the jazz festival Sam had heard about, but after looking for awhile, we realized it exist. We found an African benefit performance though. A man lead us in a traditional dace while a group of Rotoruans played many different drums in a style that fit the dance. Sam taught me how to fold a oragami crane. I headed to the redwood forest of Rotorua next.

The trees that are native to New Zealand do not grow fast enough for them to sustain the growing country that relied on them for a building material, so redwood trees from California were imported and planted in large arboretum. They grow faster than in California, thanks to the warm weather and lots of rain, so they are much more sustainable. The redwood forest was made into a park with a high ropes tree walk with artsy lights placed among the trees. It was pretty magical to be able to walk above the forest floor in the tree tops, although I wish I had been able to go at night when the lights were lit. I loved the all of the different types of ferns (some short some taller than me), especially the silver ferns which are the symbol of New Zealand.

Throughout my day in Rotorua, I discovered that it is a very clean town. In the redwood forest and even on the city streets I saw very minimal litter for it being a touristy place to visit. Overall I think Rotorua has got the hang of sustaining the environment that allows the tourism industry to flourish.