April 9: Rotorua

Previously: April 8

In writing up our various daily doings, I forgot to mention Vivien’s breakfasts. It’s a pleasant change having a proper cooked breakfast instead of generic toast and peanut butter. Since we haven’t had much in the way of eggs, we opted for eggs and bacon, with fried tomatos for me and mushrooms for Shoshanna: yesterday, fried eggs; today, an omelette; tomorrow, scrambled. Yummy, with lots of other good stuff (toast, cereals, yogurt, jams) and civilized coffee (i.e., in mugs rather than thimbles) available ad libitum.

Today’s goal was to do one more good hike before leaving New Zealand. It was a beautiful sunny day, with temperatures expected to be in the mid-teens (Celsius). After examining our various options, we chose Rainbow Mountain, which offers panoramic views over Rotorua and its lake, as well as looking backwards to Taupo and Tongariro. From the summit, we saw what appeared to be Ruapehu, the tall peak in Tongariro Park, but Tongariro itself was hidden in cloud and the haze of distance. The Rainbow Mountain trail is about half an hour’s drive south of Rotorua, about as far as we waned to drive. It starts with a gentle uphill climb, then becomes much steeper. It’s a sufficiently popular mountain bike trail that about midway up, they separate the pedestrian trail from the bike trail. That’s a good thing; although mountain bikes would climb about as fast as hikers, parts of the upper trail are slippery with clay, and you’d never be able to stop your downward progess if you’re on wheels rather than feet.

It’s a strenuous hike, but we persevered and—mirabile dictu!—a red letter day: we actually finished a hike in less time than the posted suggestion at the trailhead (1.5 hours). Usually we lollygag along, spending a ton of time savoring the sights. Which makes for a great experience, but means that we need to allow more time than posted for any given hike. We even made good time downslope, which was a much easier descent than Tongariro, despite being steeper in most places: we were less fatigued, there was much more shade, and the footing was generally better, so it was easier to stretch our legs and maintain a good pace instead of carefully placing each foot to avoid a fall.

We returned to the B&B to park our car, then walked about 15 minutes to reach the redwood canopy walk. About 100 years ago, a local New Zealand forestry company decided that they wanted to import some new tree species that would grow faster and produce better wood than the local trees. So they imported seeds of various appropriate species from all around the world. The big success has been “radiata” (Monterrey) pine, which accounts for something like 90% of New Zealand’s plantations. But they also discovered that California redwoods grow exceptionally well here: the conditions are similar to those within its native range in California, but without California's seasonal drought. So there are now 100-year-old trees that are almost 1.5 metres in diameter (about 4 to 5 feet). The only drawback is that they grow too fast, creating wood that is lower in density than the foresters had hoped for. So the trees seem to be mostly used ornamentally rather than as a forestry plantation species, and in Rotorua, they form a large plantation that runs just behind our B&B. Lovely for a relaxing walk.

To monetize their investment in the trees, the forestry company added a “canopy walk”, which involves hanging bridges and platforms about 10 m off the ground, and an optional section where the bridges rise to about 15 m above the ground. The bridges bounce pleasantly as you cross them, so the walk is not for the vertiginous. My only complaint was that the bridges are narrow, so for a big guy like me, my arms kept rubbing along the handrails if I didn’t angle my shoulders forward and back to narrow my profile. It’s all very well designed and safe, both for the trees and the people—we met their emergency response crew, who were practicing ascents and descents in case they had to rescue people. The trail is a loop that takes about 40 minutes to complete end to end, so evacuating people from the far end via the single entry point during (say) a fire would be impractical. Instead, they have to be able to use ladders to reach the platforms and climbing gear to lower people to the ground.

We returned home through the redwood forest, which is beautiful, particularly as the light begins to fade in late afternoon. I had a quick nap, then Vivien knocked on the door to see if we would like to join her for a snack. She made tea and served homemade raisin fruit cake, which was a nice treat, and we talked with her for about an hour. She’s quite a remarkable person. As the 11th and youngest child of a very traditional Chinese family in Malaysia, her future prospects weren’t bright; neither of her sisters graduated from high school. But she managed to persuade her older brother to fund her to leave Malaysia at the end of her high school. She obtained a degree in economics and an MBA in marketing at Sir Wilfred Laurier University in Canada, before traveling to England with her boyfriend, who eventually became her husband. She discovered the home of her heart in New Zealand, and stayed here to raise her family (a son and daughter), while helping fund her family by developing rental properties and later, the B&B where we stayed. Unfortunately, her husband had one of those appalling mid-life crises men seem so vulnerable to, and left her after 26 years of marriage. She’s been alone 5 years now, but has come to terms with her loss and is moving on with her life.

Dinner at the Eastern Brewhouse again. I went for the brisket with mashed kumara and roasted veggies, which was lovely. Shoshanna went for the seafood soup, which had prawns, strips of lightly breaded white fish, and scallops over a thick and spicy Thai broth with noodles. As the brisket was braised in a porter beer, I opted for a pint of stout to wash it down. Shoshanna chose a pleasant (i.e., not too sweet) “Black Doris” plum cider. Dessert was a shared chocolate sundae.

Next installment: April 10