The Broome Report

Hello everybody!

It’s been a while since the last update (again), we’ve been doing lots of driving and flying, but some experiences are being experienced nonetheless. Thanks for all the replies to the last one! :-)

Route update

The R.E.M. concert was very good. Michael Stipe spent the evening looking kind of like a Ninja Turtle with paint around his eyes (not sure why). From Christchurch we drove north and took the ferry to the North Island. Spent two days around Tongariro National Park (without even a glimpse!!! of the volcanoes because the weather was so bad). Took a crazy “cave tubing” trip to Waitomo Caves, abseiling, jumping into an underground river, climbing up little waterfalls, etc. Crazy. Then we went to (pretty, smelly) Rotorua for three days. Took a day-trip to White Island, which is an active volcanic island. Then it was 4 days in Auckland City, then an overnight stop in Melbourne, and a flight via Perth to Broome, in the north of Western Australia (WA).

So, the Australian leg of the trip is just beginning, but we already feel like home. Because it’s 30 degrees and 90% humidity. At night. There’ll be some changes from the past two months - for example we rented a 4WD campervan, and bought new swimsuits. It’s not going to be a love-at-first-sight thing (the climate is killing us), but we’re just beginning.

Short History of Rotorua

First there were beautiful natural mineral pools called the Pink and White Terraces, and tourists came to bathe in them. Then in 1886 there was a great big huge volcanic eruption that killed lots of people and buried 5 villages and totally destroyed the terraces. So they built artificial pools instead, but they were filthy and “not a place for Christians to Bathe”. So they built a big bathhouse, but the sulfur fumes corroded it and it looked terrible. So they built another bathhouse, and later another one plus a couple of health clinics. In all this time no one managed to address the fundamental problem of the town - the SMELL. It smells like a rotten egg. You know how in most places, when you want a bad smell to go away, you open the window? Well in Rotorua you’re better off closing it.

Auckland

We thought Singapore was multicultural, till we arrived in Auckland. What a lovely mess. There’s Chinese and Vietnamese, Polynesians (Maori and others), a whole bunch of Europeans, plus Indians, Arabs, etc etc. In the city center you can still get mince pies and ice cream, but it’s much easier to get Turkish kebabs (shawarma in a lafa), sushi, etc. There’s kosher food too, of course, and the local Nando’s branch is halal (the Muslim kosher).

We went to get a haircut. The barber was a big friendly dark skinned fellow. Turns out his mother is from Niue and his dad is from Samoa, and the dad had studied Hebrew for 20 years (“he is a Bible teacher”).

In and Out

Following the transition from New Zealand to Australia.

Out: sandflies
In: mozzies (mosquitoes)

Out: sitting in the hostel lounge by the fireplace
In: sitting by the hostel pool (or inside it)

Out: Israelis everywhere
In: Isra-what?

Out: fleece jackets
In: swimsuits

Out: being wet (rain)
In: being wet (sweat)

(to be continued)

One thing that’s pretty much the same is the brand names and companies. That’s because the Aussies have bought or taken over most of the NZ economy - they control the banks, the food, much of the travel and tourism sector, you name it. The only things they didn’t touch are the sports teams and the beer breweries - since that would be an act of war.

Ciao ciao,

- Ron & Dana