Is it Friday, Saturday..???...Did I really just lose a day traveling to New Zealand? Epic voyage that had me taking off with friend, cameraman, and travel partner Josh Bane in the freezing Denver afternoon…to LA…to Auckland….to Rotarua in the North Island of New Zealand.
Extreme Cuisine with Jeff Corwin…New Zealand! Flight was unmemorable except for Josh trying to sweet talk anything that moved to get us bumped up to a better seat. Turns out the better seats were exit rows next to the gallery. Word from the wise…if your traveling 13 hours on a plane ride, don’t take the seats where everyone and their mother’s stands to do their stretching, their baby walking, their group gathering…. you get the picture. Thankfully a prescription took me out for most of the trip. Also, at the last minute we got Jeff on a flight into Auckland as well, just a couple hours behind us, so we didn’t have to wait nine hours for him. He is, hands down, the most resourceful traveler I’ve ever met…never say never, he will make it, he will get on. And because it’s slow going for the crew with 10 heavy production bags in a foreign land, the lucky bastard actually arrived about 15 minutes after we got finished.
Now were in Rotarua, a town about 3 hours north of Auckland. And if you’re a person who cannot control their flatulence, this is the place to be. There are thermal pools everywhere, and a strong smell of sulfur everywhere. Kind of a kooky little town, lots of tourism. Were shooting with a cool diver named Joe, who is from the Maori tribe here…this guy looks like the Hulk, but with a hell of a lot more personality. We’re collecting fresh water mussels, and crawfish in a dive tomorrow, and cooking them in a thermal pool that’s in their communal area. It’s summer down here…about 90 degrees, a big change from the Denver weather. I like that first surreal day of being in a new place. Got a Big day, lots of stuff going on…and I’m fading a bit…need a nap and a rally dinner and we’ll hit it hard. Anybody who knows me knows I get worked up on these trips, the producer in me is just thinking of things that can go wrong. I’m that guy that doesn’t appreciate the moment, but I’m trying, honest. I’m trying….
Tim McOsker