3/10 (cont'd)==We went to a pub called Ploughman's for dinner.  They had lots of fish dishes, and steak or roast, but we both decided to try their spaghetti and home-made meatballs.  Delicious!  Or, 'religious,' as Marshall would say.  (He said something was delicious once while over here, and the Kiwis thought he said 'religious.')  I asked for a Montieth's Gold beer, and they asked if I wanted a pint.  'It comes in pints?!'  I said.  Sure.  As this was our anniversary, we celebrated with a shared ice cream sundae for dessert.

When we got back to our room, we watched the 'Goodbye, Pork Pie' DVD on our computer.  Hilarious!  Written, produced, & filmed in New Zealand about a couple of guys who rent a new yellow Mini with fake ID, pick up a girl, steal some petrol, and make their way from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island.  Along the way, they sold parts off the Mini to get money for food & beer.


3/11==After a large breakfast, we went into town and strolled thru the botique shops area.  We bought a couple of items, included a scale diecast Mini.  We had lunch in a little bakery...Marg had a mince pie, & I had a steak pie.  Mince is what they call ground beef here.  Went back to our room early and took a 'kip' because the wind off the lake last night kept us awake.  Afterwards, our hosts Peter and Liz invited us for a drink to celebrate our anniversary.  Then we came back to town and had dinner at a recommended Italian place called Portofino.  We shared a pizza.  They had two new girls waiting tables, one from Argentina and one from Italy.  Neither could speak English well.  So we got a pizza loaded with fish instead of ham, bacon (Canadian style) sausage, etc.  Second try was spot on.  Then back to the room and played cards for awhile.


3/12==Another large breakfast.  Then back to the Logon Cafe to do some business, made some phone calls (while we've been away, Marg's work decided to begin using a middle-man to issue their payroll.  So now this other company is holding Marg's back pay and we don't have a way of depositing it to our checking account!  So she's been trying to set up direct deposit from half a world away.)  Then we visited the Taupo Museum, the Lava Glass blower's shop, and went down to a local dam to watch them let some water out.  Lake Taupo is large...there are 40+ streams and rivers filling her.  But only one river letting water out.  That river is damned, but they let water out 3 times a day (4x in summer).  We watched them open the gates, the water filled the empty gorge and formed whitewater rapids.  We waited the 1/2 hour for them to close the gate, walking to different overlooks along the way.  Then watched them close the gate and the water peter away.  Met a girl from Seattle there, name of Laura, who was traversing NZ alone on a motorcycle she had 'hired.'

Grabbed a snack, then back to the Logon Cafe to check emails.  Then back to our room for an early turn-in.  While relaxing, we rec'd a call from an officer of a car club called Minis of Manawatu (Maori name for Palmerston North area) telling us of a Mini show & shine back in Palmy this coming Sunday.  So now we will cut short our planned stay in Rotarua...down to one night instead of three.  We had planned to visit Napier, along the East Coast, along what they call Hawkes Bay area, on our way back to Palmy, but now we will go there after the show.


NOTE:  More Kiwi stuff:  We saw 'blood pudding' on a menu the other day.  Turns out that is blood sausage, like chorizo or morcella.  (We saw chorizo in the market last night.)  Still trying to figure our what 'hoison' sauce and 'camembert' are.  Over here, when you move from one house or location to another, some call it 'shifting.'  A vacation cabin is a 'bach' (pronounced 'batch').  Yorkshire pudding is like a bread crust surrounding the entre of a meal.