Almost one entire day was taken up in Rotorua visiting this amazing Maori village. The area is one huge thermal village and you could smell it! We first went to the Maori village and took part in a concert presented by the Maori tribe who are descendants of the original Te Arawa tribes who made Rotorua their home. Here he is welcoming us into his home. Later his tribe performed the Haka - awesome:
We then went around checking out all the physical examples of the Pacific plate subducting beneath the Australiasian plate. One of these are the bubbling mud pools which are suppose to have healing properties. Although at 80-90 degrees C they are not exactly tempting:
Another huge example was the Prince of Wales geyser - strange name?! It was erupting water every 15 mins so was quite a spectacle!
We then left the village and went zorbing. Not covered by my insurance for some reason but it was amazing. Thats me in the plastic ball rolling down the hill. The ball by the way was filled with water and had two woman in it as well(!):
From Rotorua one can do many things. I think the most important thing to do is the White Island. It was roughly 50 GBP to go on a two boat ride to the White Island and have a tour. The WI I should mention is NZ’s most active volcano with it’s last eruption being in 2000!
It was a stunning place. Isolated and rugged it felt like being on a martian planet. The activity was immense. The jets of steam were extremely loud and powerful and the stench of sulpher was overwhelming at times. Luckily we were given breathing apparatus and hard hats. The picture below is of the crater lake which has an acidity of -1?! Apparently it is so acidic it is off the scales!! Amazing. For a geologist this was one stunning trip.
As a bonus on the way back we found a school of dolphins - some 500 strong!! I have seen groups of dolphins before but never in the quantity I saw that day.
It was a perfect end to a perfect day. Definately one of the highlights so far!
Whitianga was a nice town with a fantastic bay. Unfortunately the weather was not kind to us and our stay was conducted under almost constant cloud cover. There were breaks though and during one of these we got to go to hot water beach. It is so called due to the hot springs which come to the surface on the shore line. Therefore when we got there the beach was lined with many people, many spades, and many holes!!
It took us a while but eventually we found one and was it hot?!! Almost burnt my toenails off!!!!
The drive was some 300km of winding roads so was a huge drive. We caught some lovely views though and as last time it was a fantastic day when we are stuck in a car! This was one beach we saw on the way before we reached Auckland:
We were staying in a place called Whitianga and on the way we decided to take a so called scenic road (509). It was extremely scenic but was a gravel track through a forest. A very long drive indeed. But we did find this waterfall:
A great secluded place. Unfortunately we did not have time for a dip. We powered on to Whitianga and got there in the evening.
With a hire car organised from Auckland arranged to drop off in Christchurch we were off to explore the country! Our first major trip was north to the Bay Of Islands. We used this as our base to explore the northern areas above Auckland. It was a long drive to our first stop, Pahia, but it was worth it.
Getting out of the city and seeing the countryside was amazing. Forest was almost everywhere with fantastic views of the sea and huge beaches. The noise of animals was shocking! There are cricket like beasties which make a huge racket! And so many birds. We went to the most northern point with a car which was 90 mile beach. As the name suggested it is actually a huge spit with a beach 90 miles long. All one can see, surprise surprise, is beach:
The Bay Of Islands was amazing! The next day we left to go to the Coromandal peninsula south of Auckland.
Here are the photos of Auckland:
The Bay Bridge
Auckland CBD
And jazzy fast and exciting Auckland!
More soon….
We landed at 5am local time which was rather interesting and to start as we meant to go on we had a McDonalds breakfast!! The hostel in Auckland - YHA International, Turner St - is amazing. Almost luxury in hostel terms with great showers and huge cooking areas.
Auckland as a city is interesting. Being a major city in NZ one would expect a lot to it but there is not that much. On our first walk searching for a supermarket we came across the red light district - consists of a few bars and shops - which was funny. But the biggest tourist sight is the Skye Tower. We met our friend Sophie in Auckland who did a Skye dive (a controlled decent down the side of the tower)! Cat and I just went to the top for a great view over Auckland and the surrounding area. Sophie will be travelling with Cat and I for the next couple of weeks which is great.
Cat and I also visited the largest volcano (one of 42 which surround Auckland) but the weather was poor and we could not see much of Auckland. The weather was not great for the time we were there and apart from the Skye Tower time was spent in bars or shopping! On the 13th we hired a car in the morning for the entirety of the time Cat and I will have in Auckland and went north. The 3 of us + road trip = very exciting prospect!! Pictures from the Skye Tower will follow….
We landed on the 5th Jan in an immense amount of jet lag! But over the next few days we saw many great sights. Alcatraz was the first on the list and was very impressive. There were some great views of the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges. It was surprising that Al Capone was only there for four years. Cat had the idea that they only shipped him in for the purpose of turning The Rock into a tourist attraction! It makes sense…
Back on the mainland in Fishermans Wharf there are some tasty meals to be had. They sell whole Dungeness crabs on the “sidewalk” as snacks! We also went to The Top Of The Mark and felt incredibly underdressed as we sipped cocktails oerlooking the SF skyline. There was some great jazz playing andI highly recommend it to anyone who goes - just were a shirt and chinos (they say smart casual and they lean more torwards the smart!).
The next big thing was a bike ride. We cycled from Fishermans Wharf to the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. This is again something I highly recommend. It is a 12 mile round trip so be prepared but you can take it as leisurly as you like and it is an awesome experience with stunning views. Cat and I below:
Haight Ashbury (where the hippy revolution started or was immortilised) is a fun place to go. Lots of tie dye t shirts and pipes on sale! Plus quite a few hippies left over from the 60s by the look of them. Really nice people.
All in all SF is a great city. With so much to do I felt we had only touched the surface with our three days there. It was a rush and am truly shattered now but amazing.
Leaving for Auckland, New Zealand now…..
