Rotorua - Thermal Wonderland

Our next stop was for 2 nights in Rotorua, at a great little campground where our tent was right on the bank of a trout fishing stream.  They even had kayaks for borrowing, but it was only after getting into one that I discovered they were designed with holes through them to let the water out...and in!  A swimsuit would have been better attire than my shorts but Xavier and I had a nice paddle down the river to the lake and back.

 

Even though it was a grey, cloudy day we figured we should get out and enjoy the gondola and luge riding as the weather might be worse the next day!   So we all rode the gondola up to the top of a hill where there are several race tracks that wind their way down through the forest.  Head protection was mandatory!

Jackson was old enough to drive a luge cart by himself while I took Xavier in a tandem and Daddy drove his with one hand on the controls and snapped away with the camera in the other.  Jackson drove very cautiously for his first run but made it without incident and a great big smile on his face!

After getting to the bottom of the track, you get to ride a chairlift back to the top again - awesome!

This time Daddy took Xavier for a spin and afterwards Xavier said it was much faster with Daddy!  I followed along behind Jackson who was just in his glory being able to drive himself.

Looking back from the chairlift you got great views over Lake Rotorua, even with all the clouds!

What was waiting for us at the top of the gondola after we`d finished our luge rides?  A Jelly Belly store!!  We all filled a box with little sample packs of different flavours...then tried to figure out who had gotten what afterwards in the van.  They had even had Jelly Belly art - giant recreations of famous paintings using only Jelly Bellys!

"Something smells stinky!" was a constant comment by the boys as we then went for a walk through a downtown park.  It was filled with fenced off areas that contained pools of bubbling mud, steaming water and hissing fumerols.  And also filled with the strong smell of rotten eggs!

For a change of pace and some more FREE adventures (Rotorua is full of expensive tourist trap activities) we headed to a nearby reserve area that is home to the largest freshwater spring in the North Island - Hamurana Springs.  The water is crystal clear and the lovely trail around the spring fed pond and river winds through a Californian Redwood Forest.  The trees are over 100 years old.  They were part of an experimental forest where they planted over 200 species of trees introduced from around the world to see what would grow well in NZ.  Redwoods were a hit.

You can see the deep source of the main spring here underneath the platform.

Trout in the spring! 

We then ventured up a river used for river rafting and kayak tours and were lucky enough to spot a few kayakers near Okere Falls who exceeded the `novice` category. 

This guy managed to put his nose of the kayak upstream and into the rapid, force it down and then the water helped him literally perform a somersault above the water in his kayak (the picture shows him in mid-flip).   Way cool!

He also navigated the falls on the left of this photo successfully!

Back to the land of boiling mud and smelly hot pools, we explored Wai-o-tapu and saw the Lady Knox Geyser erupt promptly at 10:15, shooting water 10-20 meters in the air (they help it along to maintain the scheduled viewings!)

The boys taking turns reading the map and self-guided tour directions.   They did very well, given the somewhat dangerous and unstable nature of the terrain and the necessity of staying on the path.

 The sinter terraces are a collection of minerals that are left behind as water sloshing over the edge of the champagne pool in the photo below slowly evaporates away.  NZ used to have large pink and white terraces but they were covered by a volcanic eruption in the 1800`s.  Obviously they take hundreds of years in the making.

New location - still MORE WATER!

Waiting for the flood gates to open in a sense as they release the dam 3 times per day for 15 minutes to allow water to flow through the rapids and down the river.

The BEFORE . . .

 AFTER!  And then the gates close and in another 15 minutes the water returns to just a trickle running over the rocks.  Jackson was mesmerized as the rocks disappeared and then reappeared again. 

Yet another FALLS . . . 

 At least one kid was still willing to pose and smile for me in front of Huka Falls, quite an impressive sight for Kiwis . . . but not so much for Canadians who live practically next door to Niagara Falls.  

Child number 2 was suitably unimpressed.  And basically refused to walk back to the car.  It had been a long day, with lots of time spent watching moving, bubbling, flowing, boiling, steaming, spouting, rushing, tumbling, spraying, splashing WATER!  (At least the sun was shining by the end of the second day in Rotorua)


Little did the kids know, mommy & daddy had a secret to spring on them after dinner:  Our new campground had a thermal pool to SOAK in the water, a splash pad to RUN through the water and a water slide to SLIDE down the water - time for a swim!  We were much too tired to take the camera, but if you`re ever in Taupo try DeBrett`s Geothermal Hot Springs. 

Kiwis and the Coromandel

  We camped next door to the Otorohanga Kiwi House and spent the morning identifying many different bird species and spotting tuatara (these lizards live over 100 years and were around when dinosaurs roamed the earth - see below).  Can't take photos of the kiwis as they are in the nocturnal house and the flash would really freak them out, but we got close enough to touch them with only the glass pane between us.  Totally cool.  They look like the statue, but about 10 times smaller.  Very cool fact is that kiwis lay eggs the size of an emu egg, even though the adult kiwi's only the size of a chicken.  Hence their eggs are prime eating for possum, stoats and weasels, because of the huge yolk content.   

When we're traveling, the boys are constantly bombarded with signs for ice cream cones and other yummy treats at attractions and campgrounds.  It's usually much cheaper for us to buy a tub of ice cream at the store and share it.  This one lasted two days, but after a few hours in the cooler the leftovers were reduced to cream minus the ice.

Auckland saw us visiting Dave's pseudo big sister, Tara, and her two girls.  The boys loved playing on the trampoline and discovered swingball (aka pole tennis . . . a pole in the ground and a tennis ball on a string that they hit back and forth with rackets).  Yes, it found it's way under our Christmas tree.
Here we are on One Tree Hill (made famous in the song by that name by U2) looking towards downtown Auckland (you can just make out the sky tower in the distance).  Unfortunately someone hacked down the tree in an act of vandalism / protest, but there is a huge statue and plans to replant a tree.

Driving onwards we headed to the Coromandel peninsula.  We drove around most of it and were greeted with the sunniest two days we had on this trip and a lovely winding road literally right on the beach for hours on end.   

The pohutukawa trees were just beginning to bloom and the camera doesn't do justice to the brilliant colours of the red flowers, green hillside, sand and blue sea.    I wanted to take a photo around every bend in the road as another scenic vista appeared.

The boys needed a wee break, so we decided to try something completely different (from just throwing rocks into the sea etc) and headed inland to Waterworks, a quirky little park in the middle of nowhere.   There were about 50 different homemade attractions and activities to take part in.  Some of the most intriguing are shown below.

 The bikes above shoot water when you pedal them and the bikes below FLY when you pedal them!  There's Jackson trying it out and then Dave convinced me to give it a go with him . . .

Beautiful bush walk and river flowing by, largest tire swing I've seen, and a "walk the plank" or jump off the rock into the swimming hole, which both boys managed to enjoy once or twice!  

This is a human maypole.  Yes, you sit the kids on the little seat (knot in the rope??) and then run them around giving a big push and they swing around the pole.  See the wonderful padding they've put around the pole, to prevent injury?  How thoughtful of them.  Pity the poor child who walks within 20 feet of the pole though, they're out of luck.  Good ducking down, Dave!  

OK, back the the amazing views.  We didn't go north of Coromandel Town though as your insurance is often voided on that road.  But apparently, it's quite stunning.
  

Aaahhh - so amazing to be able to show your child the beautiful places on earth. 

 Dinner was fish 'n chips on the beach.  We got a family package that came with the regular 3 bits of fish and 2 scoops of chips and 6 squid rings, all battered up to look like onion rings.  Jackson grabbed a squid ring without even asking and quite enjoyed it, so he had another.  Xavier had one too and only once we were all finished dinner and in the car did I praise them for being willing to try new things - like squid rings!
 

The next morning we headed to Hot Water Beach.  There's a hot spring underneath the beach in a certain area, so everyday people flock to the beach at low tide where you can dig yourself a little hole in the sand which fills up with hot water that seeps up from the spring and have a wee hot tub on the the beach.  I'm in the middle of one just above Xavier's arm, with my floppy hat on.  The water was actually only a couple of inches deep and too hot to put your feet in.  I was sitting in the sandy bank above the pool and letting the steam warm me.  The tide soon came in and overpowered the walls of the little hot pool, but it was fun while it lasted.  

We decided to take the boys on the hour long hike into Cathedral Cove (where some of the Narnia movie was filmed).  The views were amazing and certainly make it worth the effort.  Funniest part of the hike was listening as the boys said "Gudday" to everyone we passed on the trail (prime tourist spot for the young backpackers from overseas).

Dave and I went for a swim too, just couldn't resist.  It was delightful and refreshed us for the hike back.  There was lots of other people there that day, I was just careful to avoid them with my camera shots.  Lots of kayakers as well, it's a popular spot for tours.

Relaxing evening spent at the Athenree campground, complete with geothermal mineral spa and swimming pool for the boys . . . and an amazing sunset over the estuary.

We headed to Tauranga and Mt. Manganui which boasts a vast beach and the most beach hotels that I've seen here so far.   The rocks and small offshore islands add so much to the charm of the place.  The boys simply cannot resist climbing on the rocks . . .   we also treated them to a traditional French crepe made at a stall on the beachfront, spread with un-traditional Nutella.  The boys all loved the crepe, but I didn't have to share my fresh carrot, ginger and apple juice that I got with it . . . strange ?? 

Gotta love the roads here, no way you'd catch me riding them on a bike that's for sure!

Setting up camp again (we stayed in 10 different campgrounds over our 11 night journey), the boys (especially Xavier, as Jack was usually lost in his bookworm mode OR playing DS) became more and more helpful with putting up the tent and ferrying the sleeping gear back and forth.   Xavier's favourite chore was hammering in the pegs once Daddy had placed them.   I only remember one "ouch" moment, but no band-aids required!  

The cost saving component of camping is great, avg. $50 per night and NZ campgrounds all have communal kitchen facilities (fridge, freezer, multiple sinks, cooktops, microwaves and even an oven), so we could self-cater.  We only had 3 take-away meals on the whole trip and spent around $100 per day of the trip (including camp fees, gas, attractions and food).  The downside is that it takes us minimum 2 hours to set up camp, prep dinner and eat upon arrival and minimum 2 hours in the morning to pack up, shower and get breakfast.  (Oh, did I mention that it rained 7 of 11 nights?)  

It's all part of the scenic route experience that we're going for!  Anybody ready to start planning their own journey?