12/21

In Rotorua, we visited Te Puia and the Moari Cultural center.  It was very interesting to learn about the Moari people and the treaty they signed with the British Crown.

In the afternoon we spent a few hours at the luge.  They had ski lifts to take you to the top of the hill which is the start of the course.  Then you hop in one of the luge cars and race down the hill, steering your car down the path.  It was a blast!  Those cars were fast!

The next day, we went Zorbing.  You climb into a giant, inflatable hamster ball and they push you down a hill.

After Zorbing we went to a nursery and bought several packets of seeds, thinking we would love to grow some of the plants we’ve seen back home.  (years later the seeds are sitting in a drawer)  We drove to Whakatane and did some beach combing before calling it a day.

The next day, we took a tour to White Island, the volcano.  The crater is filled with sea water but is very very acidic from proximity to the volcano.  The island is so acidic that wash from the beach produces precipitate in the ocean water.  I thought that was cool to see.

After we got back, we drove to Coromandel where we spent Christmas.  We had booked a hostel in town but it was very packed with a family.  When we arrived, they had filled the entire refrigerator with their groceries and had claimed every bed in the house.  It was a bit frustrating.  We were worried that we wouldn’t be able to get another place on such short notice (especially since everything was closing).  So we rushed back to the visitor’s information building and inquired there for a place.  They gave a few suggestions that didn’t pan out but the last was a farm not too far away.  We drove out to the farm to inquire about a room and what we got was spectacular.  This couple had built a small house to live in while they built their ‘real’ house.  After completion, they rented the small one.  It was perfect, and the couple was super nice.

After settling in, we went to Waiau Falls and a Kauri Grove.

We borrowed a shovel from the farm and spent Christmas at the hot water beach.  If you dug down into the sand, super hot water would bubble up.  After we had our fill of the beach we went to Cathedral cove and hiked around a little bit.

 

We spent the next several days in Auckland before our flight back to the states.  Auckland was the largest city we visited, and it felt similar to Melbourne.  We were sad to have to leave, it was quite a journey.