Day 33: Wellington to Rotorua and Treetops

Friday, Mar 9th

Today’s highlights include a cultural morning followed by a traveling afternoon.

We met at Wellington’s Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa around 11 AM for a 2-hour Maori culture tour and lunch. Hokepa a Maori by birth met us and would be our guide and lunch guest. Hokepa was a 40 something well educated New Zealander. He had opted some 25 years ago to have tattooing or chiseling done on his face and body thus his image was of the stereotypical Maori warrior. Make no mistake; Hokepa was a 21^st century man, a leader of his “tribe” but one well versed in the culture of today. Some things were different than we would normally accept, the idea of three wives, nine children that he barely knows, etc. but if you believe people such as Hokepa are true to their upbringing and aren’t simply actors on a stage for tourists such as us, then you would say he is a talented man, versed in the arts and culture of the Maori.

Hokepa walked us through the museum, at least what could be done in 90 minutes or so focusing on the creation as believed by the Maori and passing quickly through time to the arrival in New Zealand of the Maori ancestors from the Pacific Islands to the arrival of Europeans, including Captain Cook’s voyages and finishing in the present day with the integration of Maori life and culture into the 21^st century way of life as we know it. Lunch followed, with bread, pesto sauce, honey, herbal tea and a chocolate chip cookie.

We walked back to the hotel and awaited our driver for transport to the Wellington airport for our flight to Rotorua. The Wellington airport experience was unusually pleasant; there was no security for our flight, no x-rays, no strip searches, no bag searches, no dogs, nothing, simply a walk to the gate. We carried bottled beverages onboard the flight and nobody weighed our baggage; life in New Zealand is good.

Once aboard and everyone accounted for, the pilot took off, several minutes ahead of schedule. The flight, on a beautiful blue-sky day was great. The New Zealand terrain and ocean shorelines provided great visuals; but the greatest scenery was when we entered the volcanic regions of the North Island. Commercial flying in New Zealand still allows for slight route diversions and S-turns for sightseeing. This gave us great views of the volcanoes of Tongariro National Park including Mt. Ruapehu with its blue water crater lake, Mt. Ngauruhoe and Mt. Tongariro.

Rotorua is a tourist mecca noted for the geyser activity and general outdoor recreation opportunities. We were met at the airport and were quickly on our way out to the countryside for our stay at the Treetops Lodge & Estate. 





Some 30 minutes from the airport our driver turned off the main road toward the lodge. After driving briefly on a paved road we moved on to a washboard type dirt road through farmland until we finally arrived at the Treetops gate. Once we were granted access through the gate we entered a mystical world of flora and fauna that more than once was compared to the ride to the lodge in the movie Jurassic Park; we were on the lookout for a T-Rex. Though we didn’t see dinosaurs we did see deer, cattle, water buffalo, llamas and horses before arriving at the lodge. As we pulled up to the lodge the general manager John Logan and service and beverage manager James McMenanin were in the parking area to personally meet and greet us; seems that the eight of us would have their full attention for our stay as there would be no other guests, save one that I will mention later.

As for the lodge, we’ll let the pictures do some of the talking but clearly for the group the “WOW” factor was pegged out. This is the type place where the staff is introduced to the guests and then makes all effort to accommodate any and every whim of the guests. Helga and Christian, the lodge chefs were introduced and reviewed the plans for dinner; as you might expect, they were more than willing to adjust the menu for anyone with special dietary needs or even those not interested in pea soup or squid ink risotto.

After a “walk and talk” with John where he told us the history of the lodge and described the services, meals and activities that would be available, we retired to our accommodations to prepare for pre-dinner drinks. Our four well appointed rooms were clustered together around a living room and small kitchen area for our convenience. One last note, John advised that as chance would have it, the owners of the Treetops Lodge would be arriving that evening and possibly joining us for dinner or drinks.

So, we had pre-dinner drinks and appetizers and at 8 PM headed for dinner in the main dining room. Helga presented the night’s menu and the soup and salads were served. Tonight’s menu in addition to the soup, risotto and special order salads (with bacon) included venison chops, veggies and dessert; all very good.

Part way through dinner the owners, Alma and John Sax, did arrive and after a brief introduction they excused themselves and departed to the kitchen for their dinner.

Following dinner we took a 20-minute walk into the bush where we were shown glowworms hanging on the rock walls; interesting creatures those glowworms.

We returned to the lodge great room where Alma and John were waiting for us to join them for after dinner drinks. We had an enjoyable time talking with them about the lodge, the method and manner of its construction and their infatuation with New Zealand, the environment and the lodge itself. As luck would have it, they had just recently purchased the Kinloch Golf Club, a Jack Nicklaus designed course rated anywhere from #1 to #4 in New Zealand, a short distance from the lodge. By night’s end, three of us, Greg, Denny and I were ready to tee up the next morning, while the others had opted for jeep rides, hikes and relaxation.

Alma and John Sax as well as their entire Treetops team had got us off to a good start for our stay in the Rotorua area.