Bubbling Mud.

So...it's been awhile.  And recent posts have all been about work.  We did have a day off last week, and I figured I should blog about that adventure before I have too many wonderful things to say about the present adventure.  But, I'll save that, for now.  Suspense!  Don't you love it?!  

New Zealand has been a lot of work.  Unlike Argentina, where our 3 combines are always all in the same field, here they can be anywhere--sometimes we drive over an hour hunting down the next harvester!  And because we're always moving around, it's impossible to keep a "home base" so it's almost always only 1 night in each town.  While that means lots of unpacking only to repack in the morning, it also means I usually end up riding with Jonathan all day as he visits various fields.  Which means, I spend a lot of time sitting in the truck while he's with the operator in the combine.  When I get stir crazy, I'll walk around and enjoy the scenery.  We are in New Zealand, after all.

 One picturesque little paradise near a farm where we spent one afternoon.

 Besides the maize being harvested, they also raised sheep and deer.

Actually as I walked along the lane, one poor little sheep was outside the fence.  I'm not sure how it got separated from the others on the inside, but I gave it quite the fright when I came walking up.  The rest of the flock of course scattered leaving the little guy all alone.  He bleated and cowered, poor thing.  I tried to sweet talk him, let him know I wouldn't hurt him, but he scampered off.  Don't worry, later I saw him around the barnyard begging to be let back into the pen with the other sheep.

From that field, with the next day being Sunday, we decided to squeeze in a trip to Rotorua, a famous stop for tourists.  Any guess what the draw is?

 It's geothermal!

And you could tell the moment you stepped out of the car into the night air.  I thought it smelled like burnt popcorn.  But then, I had to agree with the standard stench comparison: rotten eggs.  Lovely.  But the next morning, as we strolled around the park near the hotel, I had to admit the smell was worth it.  Steam rose from open vents in the ground all around.  It was pretty spectacular in the morning light.

 Jonathan sneaked off the path to feel the stream water.  

It was hot!

The best of our attempts to get a picture.

Rotorua was cool, but really only worth a day.  It was a little bit of a tourist trap--a fact made rather obvious by the tour busses of Asians that swarmed our hotel.  One rather exciting experience was the bubbling mud pit--hence, the title of this post, and I've featured it in a quick video.

Rather disturbing, the way it gurgled and belched.

Other Rotorua adventures: we attempted to find a supposedly "secret" hot pool with a waterfall off the beaten path.  Jonathan had the coordinates and so, with hiking boots donned along with swimsuits under our clothes, we set out.  Apparently we had to do some bushwhacking to get to the place.  We got so far as to hear the waterfall and see some steam rising, but couldn't find any way to get down to it.  We gave up after I became more than a little upset at the jungle trying to eat me alive!  On a more pleasant note, we did enjoy some time at another hot water pool--a.k.a. the hotel's hot tub, which suited me just fine.  So there was no waterfall, but it didn't smell like sulfur or have a slimy mud bottom either.

Early Monday morning, it was back to work.  And boy, was it a crazy week!  At least it was short!  We felt the tug between Precision, who was under deadline to make production decisions and needed lots of good data, and the harvesters, whose main concern was pleasing their bosses and their bosses' clients and they didn't want anything to slow them down.  The days were long, but we hung in there, knowing an end was in sight! 

A well-earned burger late one night after a long day's work 

(which included skipping lunch!).

No, that's not dandruff in his hair, it's corn dust.

Actually the burger joint was really fun!  It's slogan was "engineering the perfect burger, because life's too short to eat bad burgers".  And they lived up to it!  Delish!

But even after grabbing a bite to eat, the day wasn't done.  We unloaded the truck that night before finally crashing.  Why?  Because we left the island!  This morning we boarded a plane bound for New Zealand's South Island--free of work for 4 whole days!  Let the adventuring begin!  Well, I think it did a long time ago, but--let the adventures carry on!