We got up fairly early the next day to go back to Rainbow Springs Nature Park to follow one of the staff around as they fed the birds. Guess nobody else was as interested as we were, because we were the only two to come along. We got to hand-feed the swans some food which they gobbled up fairly quickly. Also, it was interesting to see the keas getting fed. They would grab some bread, and then soak it in their bowl which was filled with milk.

We went back through the park one more time since the guy skipped some of the animals since he was just feeding the birds. I also picked up some bags of fish food ($5 for 3 bags) and went around to all the different pools at threw bunches of fish food in. The fish didn't make a huge fuss like I saw when they fed the fish in Kauai...maybe because they were not as used to being fed that way. Most all of the ponds in the park were open to the stream, so all the fish are free to come and go as they please. By the end of it, our hands and gloves smelled like fish food....haha.

Luckily, they let us use their phone to call our next destination, because we needed to make a reservation so that they would know to prepare lunch for us. We couldn't call from our hotel because the village hadn't opened yet at that time. Our next stop was the Whakarewarewa Thermal Village (a name that I could never pronounce...). It was pretty much next to our hotel. There was another native village next to our hotel, but the man at the i-Site told us the previous day that this one was more authentic, and also was the only place that you could eat a real Hangi meal for lunch (other places offered Hangi meals for dinner).

Along the way, we stopped by Pak N' Save again so I could replace the horrid batteries that I had gotten the day before. I also picked up a donut to munch on. The donut was so weird...it tasted more like a piece of bread with sugar sprinkled on top. No wonder us Americans are so fat...

In addition to it being a geothermally active area, it's a real village that tries to preserve their unique culture. I found it a little disconcerting that the village had western style houses and cars and such, but I guess that's what happens to cultures. You can't expect them to be static and be exactly like they were centuries ago. We got to see a performance where they danced and sang. And then they decided to get volunteers from the audience in order to help demonstrate their next dance. Well, the lady picked me to go up, and what could I do but go up? Good thing they also made a bunch of other people go up (it was a dance for males, so it was only guys). It was only after I was up there that I saw that some other people refused to go up when they were asked, so they weren't force to. Dang! I should have done that!

Anyways, we had to do a dance that was supposed to intimidate enemies or something, and the culture believed that making a face where you stick out your tongue and make your eyes pop out is scary. When we did it we made everybody in the audience laugh, so I guess we were not so intimidating... 8-p Afterwards, we went to have a lunch, which was a traditional meal that was steam cooked in one of the thermal holes. It wasn't disgusting at all...heehee

We had some free time before our next scheduled activity, so we decided we had a little bit of time to go see another sight that the guy at the i-Site recommended...the Blue and Green Lakes. This was a couple of lakes nearby StinkyTown where one of them is supposed to be blue in color, and the other one green. Well, we got to the carpark (nobody else was there), and we took a look at the two lakes. They looked pretty much like any other ordinary lake. That was a waste. I think the color difference is only obvious from the air, like if you're flying over them. Oh well.

Next, we headed off to the Agrodome, where they had a sheep show. I was really sleepy at that point, so I told Patricia that she could take a look around while I napped a little in the car before the show started. I kept half-waking up afraid that I would miss the show, and just as I was deciding that I'd better wake up for good and go look for Patricia, she was back. She had already paid for my entrance, so we walked right in. It later ocurred to us that anybody could just bypass the line and walk right in like we did, so we didn't have to pay, maybe... =p

They showed a bunch of the different kinds of sheep in New Zealand. The sheep were off to either side of the stage before hand and you could look at them and take pictures and stuff. When I first got in, I totally second guessed myself and thought they were fake because they were generally pretty still. But they were all real. They also sheared a sheep on stage and then threw the wool out to the audience to feel how soft it was (it was not as soft as Angora rabbit fur...) I kept some...figuring maybe there would be a way for me to keep it.

Afterwards, we got to see a sheepdog herding some sheep outside into a little pen. But the best part of all is when we went to the animal nursery and we saw a bunch of little lambs in a pen. Even better, there was a sign saying "Feel free to enter to pat the animals and take pictures," so of course we did that right away and had all sorts of fun. Of course, I was continually afraid of the lambs eating something -- my camera strap, my shoelaces, my jeans, Patricia's hair... Still though...really, really cute. As we were leaving, we found out that it was basically their feeding time, and they were basically picked up to be fed from a bottle, so no wonder they were all crowding around us wanting to be picked up...

Despite spending extra time with the lambs, we did make it to our last scheduled event, back at Rainbow Springs. We made it in time for the last tour of the Kiwi Encounter next door. They ladies behind the cashier were kind enough to let us upgrade our Rainbow Springs ticket to give us entry to the Kiwi Encounter (20% off the total), instead of making us pay full for the Kiwi Encounter. We didn't want to buy it yesterday because we weren't sure we could make it back to the Kiwi Encounter in time.

The Kiwi Encounter was another great highlight for me...it's hard to see kiwis, even in the zoos, and even though they are the iconic animal of New Zealand. We got to spend a lot of time with three of the adult kiwis, while the guide answered several questions. As I was leaning against one of the railings of the pen, the kiwi sniffed the fence higher and higher, and eventually put her bill on the top of the railing, sniffing what was up there (Me. I was up there.). Kiwis have their nostrils at the end of their bill, so they use their bill to sniff things. I didn't want to scare her, so I didn't move and then she went off to continue digging/sniffing in the dirt nearby.

I thought that was an awesome experience to have a kiwi get so close to me, so I went off to look at the male kiwi in the other pen. After a little while, I decided to go back to that curious female kiwi, and decided to put my arms and hands right on the edge of the railing. Well, it took some time (and a few more questions from the rest of the group to the guide), and she eventually came sniffing up the fence again and then poked her bill into the back of my hands a few times. I was totally ecstatic but again didn't move too much because I didn't want to startle her (we were not supposed to make loud noises so as not to scare them). Definitely a highlight to have "touched" a kiwi. =)

We ended up finding a place to eat downtown again, this time at a steakhouse-type place that looked like a nice, fine dining experience. We were the first ones there (they had just opened for dinner). After a while, though, I was surprised to see that several families came to eat there. The food was not really cheap ($35 for my steak), so I didn't think it was really a family-type place to eat.

New Zealand is slow. They are reallllly laid-back. We encountered several times where we were in a rush to get to our next activity or had a timeline to meet, and food service was generally slow compared to what we're used to in the US. There's just no rush over there. And we're already pretty laid back in California... I can't imagine what it would be like for someone from New York. It wasn't just restaurants either -- in general, I didn't really come across any speedsters. You drive down highway 17, and all these people are trying to pass you. But over in New Zealand, I was more often passing people than being passed (I tended to be maybe 5kph above the limit). I only got honked at once, when I forgot to look to my right when entering a roundabout.

Speaking of driving again, we totally got confused. We were making a right turn from a right turn lane at an intersection with no light, no stop sign, nothing. Remember that we are on the left side of the road. Think of it as turning into a shopping mall or gas station or something. There are other cars coming down the road from the opposite direction, so of course I'm going to wait for them to go first. Some of them put on their turn signal -- they are going to turn into the same road that I want to turn onto. Well, each one of them comes to a complete stop briefly, and then makes their turn. After two people did that, and generally acted somewhat confused, I figured out that unlike the analogous situation in the US, I actually have the right-of-way. Weeeeiiiirddd... But again, nobody got mad at me and honked.