Only in NZ

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The day we got into Rotorua we had an incredible rainstorm which kept us in our campervan except for a half an hour when we ran over to the motorpark's hot pools to soak a bit after dinner.  The next day, however, dawned bright and clear, so we spent the morning at the Agrodome!  Being a wool lover, it was a given that we'd end up at a wool show sooner or later.  Luckily, everyone had a good time there.  Where we met a few sheep (Suffolk ram above, Merino ram below),

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watched a sheep shearing demonstration,

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and a demonstration of an antique wool carding machine.  This machine has been in use since 1907 and is used now to card wool for the New Zealand homecraft market.  This is the business end.  You can see the fine wool coming off the drums in the middle of the photo, it goes through a hole and is formed into the long brown "rope" of wool called roving.  I wish I could have bought some of this to bring home.  As it was I did get some lovely hand-dyed NZ yarn that I hope to get a photo of soon.  I also got some possum/merino yarn because that's what you do when you go to NZ.  It's really soft!

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As we left the Agrodome we drove past the Zorbing hill.  We didn't do it, but it was fun to watch the crazy people who did pay to roll down the hill inside the hamster ball!

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After lunch we took a nice walk around the edge of Lake Rotorua ending up outside the Rotorua Museum.  We were "museumed-out" by this point and it was hot and everyone wanted some refreshment. 

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Chloe had been saying how much she would like to have an official tea while in New Zealand.  As we were walking into town to search out something to eat, we happened by the Prince's Gate Hotel and there was a sign outside that said their speciality was High Tea.  How serendipitous!  We were able to take our tea outside by the pool where we relaxed and enjoyed ourselves so much I forgot to get a photo.  We did get a photo of Chloe by the door of perhaps her favorite place in NZ. 

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That night Mark and I had a lovely couple's only trip to the Polynesian Spa.  The kids weren't interested which was just as well since it was bit pricey.  The next day we made our way out of town to a nearby attraction were we could almost see the little footprints of hobbits in the soil.  More on that next time!