Neil and Jess Invade NZ-OZ 2010

We work up in time to hike over to the spot and get to the hotbath – BUT it was raining, heavily.  Are plan was to hike over and chill out and be back in time for breakfast at 8.  The rain screwed us so we just stayed in bed and waited until our 8 o’clock breakfast time.

Our hosts had an awesome breakfast for us.  There was homemade musli that was delicious, a bowl of really good mixed fruit, homemade bagels, coffee and tea.  It was good stuff.  We hung around and shot the shit for a while then got our things together and got ready to head out of there and hit the Museum of Rotorua.  Our hosts of course were sad to see us leave but told us to check out a post that had a lot of volcanic activity – and one of the only places with bubbling water, mud and sulfur deposits.  It is like the only place around that had all of those features.  It was pretty cool to see.

The Museum of Rotorua was pretty interesting as well.  The area right from the start was a place for people to come and go to the hot springs for their healing powers.  The area exploded in a major eruption/explosion thing and there was stuff everywhere.  Sorry I’m not making sense but Jess is talking to me.  We watched a video about the area which interesting because when the explosions happened the benches you sat on began shaking and moving.  It was pretty funny and I wish there were more people in there because it would have been pretty funny to watch them spazz out.  They also had an so of the old baths that the soldiers used to come to after WWI for electroshock therapy.  The rooms looked like torture chambers. 

It was raining pretty heavily and that was a downer because we were headed to the one place I wanted to go - Hob it ton.  It’s written like that because we signed a confidentiality agreement not to talk about it or post pictures online because they are getting ready to start the next movie – which they’re not allowed to mention by name.  So dumb.  As if people don’t know what the next movie is going to be.  Anyway there were a ton of geeks on the tour with us taking pictures of where the actors ate, where they parked there cars and some other really irrelevant shit.

That aside, seeing Hob it ton was pretty cool.  Of course, like whenever we were in Europe and I wanted to see something it was covered in scaffolding and so part of it – like B ag En d which I wanted my picture in front of was unavailable.  We got to see a bunch of others and the party tree.  Overall pretty cool.  We also got to watch some guy shear a sheep as the set is on a working sheep farm.  After the fun with the sheep was done we headed back to Auckland to the cold hotel which, this time was not as cold.

We decided to head to the sushi place since it would now be open.  We got in and there were a ton of reservations and we would have to wait an hour.  An hour?  F that.  There was no way we were waiting for that long.  We got up and went to a really scary looking Chinese place across the parking lot.  I ordered 20 lamb skewers, some rice and some other vegetables.  Jess ordered some veggie skewers.  On the menu, below my lamb stuff was ox penis kebab.  What the fuck?  Ox penis.  I admit I considered it for a minute – I mean if Zimmern can eat it why can’t I, right?  Then I was like, no way.  Sure, it’s not gay – I mean it is meat, just not meat we normally eat, but really, there’s not going to be penis of any kind going in my mouth.

Three guys sat down next to us and of course, what to they order as part of their meal – that’s right ox penis kebab.  Now the whole time I am thinking , shit – their ox penis juice is going to get on my lamb.  I think I can hack it.  Then I’m thinking, hahahaha – that means the ox penis juice will also get on Jess’ veggies and not only will she have eaten meat product but she will have been eating OX PENIS to break the no meat deal!  Did we get ox penis on our food?  I dunno but the lamb skewers were pretty damn good and I know Jess liked her veggies. 

Now I was originally leaving this next bit out of the blog but since it happened a SECOND time, it’s back on the table!  I’m sitting in the room waiting for Jess to shower and all of a sudden I hear a thump and a few other trailing thumps…yes, Jess and the stairs for the second time.  She opened the door and asked me if I knew what that noise was and I said, yep – you falling down the stairs again!  We started dying laughing and then she said “and you didn’t even come see if I was ok!”  To which I replied, “you came back in so I knew you were ok!”