Excerpts from Birdies, Bogeys and Kiwis: Golfing around New Zealand
…Play a different course almost every day of a two-week vacation on the Coromandel Peninsula and still have plenty of time to swim, stroll long stretches of soft sand beach and visit the many small towns that dot the 72-kilometre coastal circuit then head south to Rotorua’s really, really hot spots! One of the best experiences in the Rotorua area is a Hangi, a Maori celebration for visitors that dates back many hundreds of years. Greeting rituals, interpretative displays, performances and an excellent banquet cooked traditionally on hot rocks in an earthen oven highlights our evening at Tamaki Maori Village just outside the city. While a less rustic Hangi conducted inside a local hotel is pleasant enough, a forested village setting gives a more realistic view of life in pre-European days…
Another fun activity invented and manufactured at Rotorua is Zorbing. A Zorb, likened to a human-sized hamster ball, is a huge clear plastic air-cushioned orb weighing up to 90 kilograms which reaches speeds of 40 kph while racing downhill — with a person strapped inside. All the violent bouncing is absorbed by the bigger outer transparent ball while you spin like an intoxicated rodent. Adding wet insult to injury, Liquid-Zorbing is all the rage. Two or three buckets of water are introduced to the mix, while the person inside is let loose to tumble out of control. I’d imagine the operators get a release signed before letting innocent victims try that trick.
More akin to our physical abilities, we make lifting an ale a pleasant experience at the Pig & Whistle City Bar. Through the Oink, Oink doors, this is a great place for pub-style gatherings. Although we’ll miss the Friday “Squeeler” for dancing to live music and other entertainments, I enjoy quaffing a halfpint of their Swine Lager and Geoff, a Snout Dark Ale.
To follow in Chapter Two:
Games Galore on Coromandel…
The Hinterland Wonderland…
The Longest Place Name…
Great Golfers and their Classic Courses
