Sitting at dinner tonight, I couldn't help but think of more things I've done this week to include in my blog. One of them is quite unusual and I'm not exactly sure how to describe it. Raise your hand if you've ever heard of zorbing. I originally saw it on a Discovery Channel special about New Zealand and I'm sure my first thought must have been that it was just another stupid thing for tourists to blow their money on. The zorb is unique to New Zealand: it's a large, rubber ball you can climb inside of and either roll down a zig-zagged course or straight down a steep hill. You can choose to be harnessed inside of it and roll with the zorb or even have the inside filled with a few inches of water and turn the trip down hill into a giant slip-and-slide.

I was hesitant about agreeing to this at first: it seemed like a dumb idea to pay just to roll down a stupid hill and I was worried about getting sick inside this wet tumble dryer and ruining the ride for everyone. Not surprisingly, I caved and submitted to the common traveler's mantra of "I might as well give these people my money since when I will ever be here again?" The guy in charge basically threw a bunch of us in the back of a beat up truck and drove us to the top of a fairly steep hill. Dressed in some very cool-looking and futuristic wetsuits, we climbed inside of what resembled a large hamster wheel and began probably the strangest downhill trip I'll have the pleasure of experiencing.

I had completely forgotten about zorbing until we arrived in Rotorua. It really is amazing all of the strange and sometimes expensive things you can do while you're traveling. For every free public hot springs park or rabbit shearing shed (both of which I've visited in New Zealand), there is a tour of some facility you never thought you were interested in seeing. In Thailand, our tour included unnecessary stops in jewelry and silk factories, in addition to several very necessary stops at 7-Eleven and a couple of absolutely beautiful waterfalls.

I've been away since July and it still amazes me all of the fantastic, commercial, scenic, and sheerly unique things there are to do when you travel. Two nights ago, our group stayed in a gorgeous lodge on the water at the foot of a very green valley called, not ironically, the River Valley Lodge. What's great about traveling across places like Australia and New Zealand is their accessibility. There is no shortage of inexpensive and well-maintained lodges, motels, and hostels to stay at. River Valley, for example, provided internet access, a kitchen, a rustic lounge with a big screen, and even a barbecue dinner to anyone who was willing to make the trek down to its grounds. I'm convinced, also, that hostels are the absolute best place in the world to meet people. I haven't been anywhere else where you could be as comfortable about sharing a bunk bed with a person from Holland as you would be a hostel, especially in New Zealand. The hostel we stayed in at Whitianga at the beginning of the week felt more like a couple's home than just a place to stay the night. One of the owners cooked spaghetti bolognese for all of us and even shared her ample collection of women's fashion magazines to those of us with nothing better to read. What a deal...

Posted by Jason at 08:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Comments

Posted by: Glenn Castillo | December 13, 2006 05:05 AM

Posted by: John | December 13, 2006 09:14 AM

Posted by: Jason | December 13, 2006 06:08 PM

Posted by: *mich*.br | December 13, 2006 10:32 PM