First, you climb through the yellow tunnel into the center of a large, sturdy double-walled beach ball. They add about fifty gallons of lukewarm water.  Now you’re sitting in a bath, in a beach ball, feeling vaguely ridiculous.

Then they push the ball off a cliff. You (and the water) flip and spin, willy nilly, all the way down the mountain side. You pray the ball stays on the course.

I laughed uncontrollably all the way down. It was one ride for $20, or three rides for $50. I should have bought the three-pack. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Rotorua is a bit like Yellowstone. Lakes, mountains, lots of thermal activity – geysers, hot springs, etc. It’s famous for trout fishing, mountain biking, Maori culture, and now Zorbing.

Not far away is Mount Tongariro, which served as Mt. Doom in LOTR. New Zealand is uniformly spectacular.