It took four hours on the bus from Auckland to Rotorua through some amazing scenery. My first impression was that it was a pretty cool little town but once I’d had a look around Rotorua I was pretty dumbstruck. It is absolutely stunning here……so what if it’s a little pongy from all the sulpher. It totally rocks!
In the evening I experienced a Polynesian Spa and I’m pretty convinced that my joints, hair, nails and skin have benefited from all the minerals in the water. From my hotel I practically step outside my front door and step into the hot baths unlike a priest named Father Mahoney who trekked 80 Kilometers in 1878 from Tauranga to Rotorua to bathe in a hand-dug, fern and manuka-fringed thermal pool exactly where the beautiful Polynesian Spa is now.
Father Mahoneys’ arthritis was greatly alleviated from bathing regularly in the pool so the hot mineral spring water now have quite a ‘therapeutic’ reputation. All I can say is that the view from the pool took my breath away and I felt wonderful afterwards :0)
I was delighted to run two breakout sessions at the Rotorua Convention Centre for the Learning@School Conference #latsconf. My first session was ‘Google Earth in a Social Science Context‘ and my second was ‘Use of Online Games in Primary‘ (with a bit of Web 2.0 flung in).
Full course outline here…Do Be Rotarua
The teachers that came to both sessions were lovely and reaffirmed to me that Kiwi’s are the nicest people on this earth. Nothing is ever a problem, they always seem to be laughing and having fun and I can honestly say I’ve witnessed more random acts of kindness in these two short weeks than in my whole life.
There were a couple of moments that stood out for me this trip and get a special mention. The first was drinking an AWESOME smoothie at lunchtime – the sweetest, most yummiest thing ever. The second was taking my shoes off at the end of the day and walking back to my hotel in my bare feet. There was something so comforting about doing that.
I LOVE that the pavements here have no dog poo on them. How amazing is that eh? Clean streets.
Looking forward to my two sessions tomorrow then the real fun starts – I’m going backpacking from Friday.
My Prezi can be viewed here: Lou Zealand Prezi
