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FROM WONDERLAND TO TAUPO

As you know from the video, day 8 brings us to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland then onto Taupo.

As I mentioned on my video post, if you’re traveling between Rotorua and Taupo, the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland is a must visit. And do take the time to check out Lady Knox Geyser, while you’re there. It doesn’t take long and you’ll also learn about how it was discovered.

The thermal wonderland truely is a wonderland. And might I add, out of this world. You really have the impression of walking on another planet as you make your way through the park. The steaming holes in the ground, the mud pools and the stunning, vivid colours of the lakes make it equally hard to believe your eyes.

We didn’t do much in Taupo. It was towards the end of the day and shops were starting to close up. We took a short stroll along the shore, a quick visit in the town centre and did some grocery shopping.

We ended up staying at the free parking near the Aratiatia Dam. It’s also where the Huka Falls Cruise departs from on the Waikato River. We were only three camper vans staying the night in this peaceful area.

That’s it for the photos of day 8. Please join me for the next post where we see lava glass, bees, falls, a chateau and cliffhang. Goodnight.

p.s. again, Alain’s contribution was a big help in telling the story.

NEW ZEALAND: NORTH ISLAND

ROTORUA

day 7

Day 7 presents us with a full day of visits. Day 6 was easy going, which helped us recover from a lot of driving and walking of the pass couple of days.

An early start for me this morning, as I was hoping to capture sunrise. It was very cloudy but I got a break in the clouds just long enough to capture golden hour. The composition wasn’t great but glad I got something. It was overcast for the next few hours. I found myself on a sulphur plateau on Lake Rotorua near Puaranga Stream. There were thousands of seagulls, very protective of their environment. I had a few flying very close around me, screaming or what those birds do. It reminded me of a Hitchcock movie. There’s a path that leads into the bushes among the sulphur. It’s a nice walk and I got a couple of photos.

Our first visit of the day was Kuirau Park & Mud Pools. A beautiful area with ponds, hot waters, mud pools and flowers. There’s an area where you can dip your feet in hot water, which the girls took advantage of.

Next, we took the Skyline to the Volcanic Hills Wine Tasting Room. Before the tasting we visited the Jelly Belly store, bought some lollies and ate some very bizarre tasting Jelly Bellies. Then Alain and I did a luge race before we stopped for lunch. Alain went back to do more luge afterwards while his wife, Manu, and I went wine tasting. A wonderful room with amazing views. And so is the wine. I didn’t know New Zealand had so many wineries and good wines. Our hostess was lovely, taking the time to chat with us yet giving us time to savour the wine. Very nice experience.

At the end of the afternoon, we visited the Ohinemutu Maori Village. Beautiful buildings with amazing carvings for decorations. We were the only ones there and it didn’t take long to visit. Worth the stop.

The Cosy Cottage Thermal Holiday Park is where we stayed for the night. We needed to secure a spot for the night as we intended to visit the Redwoods Tree Walk. Unfortunately, the weather turned grey and it rained heavy pretty much all night.

That’s it for day 7 my friends. Thank you for watching and, please, come back for the next video where we visit a wonderland and head to Taupo. Goodnight.

p.s. a big thanks to Alain and Manu for the use of some of their photos and videos.

MUSIC :

Pokarekare Ana by Ukulele Mike Lynch

Pokarekare Ana from polkadotpants

ROTORUA - NEW ZEALAND

AGRODOME

Photos from the Day 06 video are here with a few extras thrown in.

For the boys, our first morning in Rotorua started with a visit to the Agrodome. The girls spent the day shopping. We spent pretty much all morning here. We did the Farm Show and the Farm Tour. Both excellent and worth doing. They do have two other tours but we didn’t do those. Agrodome is well worth a visit for young and old but kids will especially love it for the hands-on experience with the animals.

There aren’t a lot of photos from the afternoon as we joined the girls for a stroll and shopping. Nearing evening we made our way towards Lake Rotorua and and got to see swans and cygnets near the shore. On the way down here we discovered Eat Street. We came back here for dinner at Mac’s Steakhouse. Very nice food and the staff were excellent. We had a good laugh with them. We stayed at a free camper-van parking area that night, just opposite the Polynesian Spa.

Well that’s it for this quick post. I hope to see you for the next video, which should be out in the next two, three days.

p.s. a big thanks to Alain for the use of some of his videos and photos.