March 13 - 9 pm

Lesson for today: Be flexible - when I am only booking buses and hostels one or two days in advance, I can't be too set on a specific plan.
Yep. My plan to go to Mt. Maunganui tomorrow isn't going to work out now, unfortunately, because all the hostels are booked through the weekend for some surfing/sporting events. Dang. Cancel my bus ticket. Rework my itinerary. I now have a bus ticket to Hamilton, and a hostel there for a night. From there, I hope to go back to Mt. Manganui, after blackwater rafting in the Waitomo Caves. We'll see how that works out. I spent a lot of my day planning, so I hope it turns out okay.
Anyway, I went zorbing today! Something I wanted to do while I was in NZ. They took me to the top of a hill, I climbed in a big blown up ball, harnessed myself in, and they rolled me down said hill. Quick ride - fun - but I can't say it was $45 fun. Maybe $15 fun. I'd rather do the sky coaster at Lagoon.
Tonight's activity was great though - I went to an authentic Maori cultural dinner/concert/village experience at the Tamaki village. It was really cool. It was a ways out of town, so they provided a bus to take us there. My bus driver, Dennis the Menace, was so hilarious. He sang and made jokes the whole way there and back. Once there, they took us through their village like we were a visiting tribe. Showed us what some of their customs, schooling, training, etc. were like. The haka and hongi and poi balls and lots of "Kia Ora"s. They performed a few songs and dances, and then it was time for the hangi (feast). So much food. So delicious. Buffet-style! I'm sure I ate more than I did at Thanksgiving last year. I tried mussels.. Not bad. Not great, but not bad. Lamb, fish, stuffing, carrots, potatoes.. Then dessert! Pavlova and custard. And then hot chocolate! Hey, I was going to get my money's worth. Best food I've had in a long time. How am I going to go back to peanut butter sandwiches and spaghetti?! I don't want to.
So I guess I'm heading to Hamilton tomorrow. That's where the wind is blowing me. Wish me luck.