Hi all, we are on the road. We had a great but very rainy day at Rotorua. There are lots of thermals - we didn't take in the one of the numerous spas and soak in the mud (kate says yuck) but we did stroll around the 'volcanic playground' and saw lots of action... Kate still says yuck - it all smells like sulphur, however she didn't walk around with fingers shoved up her nostrils like she was in a Hong Kong fish markets! 
Playgrounds are great here:
More flowers - they are impressive -really.
The rain persuaded us to move along so we moved on.. to Whakatane. This is pronounced Fak-a-ton-ay.. careful. We stayed at a stunning campsite on the beach in our new 4 person tent. However we quickly realized that folks here don't do camping light.... the average tent has at least 3 or 4 compartments. Paul paced one off at 24 feet long. What a sight that would make on the shores of Kluane! These tents are bigger than most of the rooms we stayed in, in South East Asia! People bring everything - bunkbeds, cots, tables, chairs, barbies, tv's - not to mention copious amounts of beer, all packed into a small trailer ready to roll.
We got to see Glow Warms. We did a little hike at dusk and by the time we were at the glow worm sight it was very dark. They are like tiny LED lights that light up the undersides of bridges, caves, and wet rock faces. It was like seeing the milky way in the trees. It was magic. The kids loved it too. We had to buy a flashlight for our camping adventures here and Kate and Mira were both excited to use in the bush. Late night had by all.
We visited a Macadamian nut farm on the way round the East Coast today. It was just like the one we visited in Hawaii. NZ is similar in many ways to Hawaii, just has cooler temperatures and cold oceans.. and... better wine and ice cream says Paul.
A church and a horse somewhere along our very long day of driving...
So we drove. We had intended to drive and camp at Hick's Bay today but the campsite was not impressive (folks had already started celebrating early in the afternoon) so we decided to use the pending cloud cover to push on towards Gisborne. On route we discovered plenty of no vacancy signs until arriving in sunny Gisborne to find what must have been the last available space in town. Apparently Kiwis like to celebrate the new year by camping (in their really big tents!) . The kids braved the pool - with wetsuits and were happy to use the shower.
So we drove. We had intended to drive and camp at Hick's Bay today but the campsite was not impressive (folks had already started celebrating early in the afternoon) so we decided to use the pending cloud cover to push on towards Gisborne. On route we discovered plenty of no vacancy signs until arriving in sunny Gisborne to find what must have been the last available space in town. Apparently Kiwis like to celebrate the new year by camping (in their really big tents!) . The kids braved the pool - with wetsuits and were happy to use the shower.So from Gisborne, New Zealand, we wish you all a Happy New Year, 2010. much love sharon
Wow! NZ looks incredible. Much nicer than Cobourg in December. No wonder the NZ government was concerned that you might try to stay in their country. The girls look great. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Scott