Days 49-51: Taupo to Rotorua

So, Sheree and I were getting pretty sick of doing just the typical old fundraisers like sausage sizzles and raffles, so we decided to spice things up a little bit and do something different.  For Taupo, we decided to put on a Speed Dating night!  We contacted a few places, and PLOUGHMANS bar and restaurant was wonderful enough to let us use their upstairs, and gave us a discount on some drinks to help us out.  Friday was all about advertising.  We got straight to work... The first thing we did was to join a bunch of NZ dating websites, hoping to be able to send messages to singles in the area to invite them to our event.  But we were disappointed over and over again to realize that we had to fill out enless information about ourselves before being able to send messages, and not only that, but some sites wouldn't even let us send any messages without being a paying member!  So in the end, after a heck of a lot of work, we had only sent out 4 messages, and we were now members of countless online dating sites!  The next plan was to make up flyers and post them around town.  We put up posters in gyms, stores, and we even stopped people in the streets to invite them and gave them some flyers. 

With Terence, our CS host in Taupo!

The next day was the 100k flyer, so we took the opportunity to do some advertising there.  We made up a big sign with a heart on it saying "Single?  Speed Dating Tonight!" with all the details, and as we stood at the finish line, we danced to the music while getting lots of looks and laughs and comments, but it was quite a lot of fun.  We were also there to see Terence, our Couch Surfing host, cross the finish line!  It was quite impressive, as he was feeling sick that whole day, and still managed to finish the race!  By the way, he is training for an Iron Man competition in about 9 months.  Good for you Terence!

One of the hot pools on the way to Rotorua

As the night progressed and it was nearing the time for Speed Dating to start, we were getting a little bit nervous.  We had no idea how many people, if any, would show up.  We stood and watched at the window for people who looked like they might be single and might be coming up.  In the end, there were only 2 people who showed up, a guy and a girl.  We felt terrible for them, because they expected to meet lots of people, and really only got to meet each other and us... but we played some cards and chatted and had some drinks, and in the end we all had a great time!  It wasn't exactly speed dating, but it was fun!  So finally, we only made $40, so it was our worst fundraiser as far as how much, but it was our best fundraiser as far as how much fun we had!  Thanks to you guys who came out and made it so much fun!


Sunday it was time to get back on the road, as we headed to Rotorua.  It was a nice day, but a smelly ride, as we started to get into the sulphur area of the country, with all the hot pools and steam coming up out of random pools and holes in the ground.  It was pretty cool to see!  We stayed with some family friends of Sheree, and they were absolutely lovely.  Lorence and Louise are a sweet couple who live on a farm on the outside of Rotorua, and they made us feel at home right away.