Things I Did When I Gave Up Looking for Frodo, Part One

It's a slow news day, folks. Therefore, I thought I would grant the request for more pictures from my New Zealand trip last year. However, there's still no way I'm uploading any of the scene re-enactments! Instead, I have included below some of the highlights of the vacation that are not Lord of the Rings related, just to prove that I am not 100% insane.

Let's begin in Auckland, where we stayed for just one day. We went to the beach where The Piano was filmed, but it wasn't that exciting (and I hadn't even seen the movie). What was pretty cool was the Minus 5 bar.


It's kind of touristy, but worth visiting nonetheless. It's a bar made completely out of ice - as in, pretty much everything is ice - the bar itself, the glasses, the seats, the walls, the floor, you name it. Their big shtick is that they give you a parka and gloves and you can only stay in there for 30 minutes, or else you essentially freeze. We had to go in the early evening because we were about to keel over from jet lag, so there wasn't anybody else there. But that gave us time to look at all the crazy ice sculptures around the room, and talk to the bartender quite a bit. He made us a blue drink that looked like anti-freeze but it was the best drink I had on the trip, I tell you. If you are interested in going to a Minus 5 bar, there are 3 in Australia, 2 in New Zealand and one in the Caribbean. I would recommend it, just because it's a pretty unique experience. If you have time, you should also read their FAQ page, because it includes what I found to be some fascinating information about how they run the place and make all the ice. But I also see that it says you aren't allowed to take pictures in there. Oops!

After leaving Auckland, we made our way inland to Rotorua, where we went to the Agrodome. This is the entrance to the park, so I had to get out of the car and give props to the Lord of the Rams.


I have mentioned the Agrodome before in my review of Merino Lanolin Skin Creme, as that's where I bought it. If you would like to be entertained, I highly, highly suggest you check out the Agrodome's site. Who would think to combine extreme sports with farm shows? Only crazy kiwis, that's who.


There I am, second from the right, taking part in the sheep show. Do you see the swarms of sheep behind me? They were really well trained! Anyway, I was a little worried about what they were going to make us do up there, but shortly after this picture was taken, a whole bunch of baby lambs came out on the stage and I got to feed one, so it was all good. If this whole writing thing doesn't work out for me, I'm totally going to go back and work at the Agrodome.

My husband put up with the sheep show and the organic farm tour, which was great - we got to taste kiwi wine (too sweet for my taste) and get up close with tons of llamas, emus, ostriches and alpacas. I was in heaven. But then I had to put up with him achieving one of his main goals of the trip - to go Zorbing. If you look closely you will see two huge inflatable spheres on either side of a station at the top of the hill. My husband was in the one on the left.



There is another sphere inside of these contraptions, and they put a bit of water in it, and then crazy people like my husband get inside (they give the crazy people wet suits), it gets sealed shut, and they push the Zorb down the hill. You are supposed to try to stand up and run while the Zorb is careening down the hill (think of a hamster wheel), but most people slip and fall and get sloshed all around until someone stops the ball at the base of the hill. My husband got about 8 steps under his belt and then fell. He said it was extremely fun, but a little freaky because there is no way out. Not for claustrophobics! No, I did not take part. This was early on in the trip and I didn't want to get sent to the hospital before finding Frodo and Gandalf.


The guy above eventually decided to let my husband out. It looks really gross, like the ball is giving birth to a human or something.

I have a few other pictures that I have deemed "safe for the blogosphere," but I think this post is long enough for now. The next time I have nothing else to write about, which may be very soon because it seems like all the celebrities have decided to let Britney Spears take the limelight and I refuse to write anything else about her for a while, I will post Part Two... and then Part Three.

Have a good weekend,
- e