Comfort Inn Donhur Tauranga

... before flying out on Thursday.<br><br><br>This mostly went to plan&#8230;&#8230; catching up with friends and family for and dealing with various 'administrative' that need to be sorted for when I&#8217;m away &#8211; like switching my phone over to prepaid. <br><br>Wednesday was final packing day. I had to somehow work out how to drop 2-3 kgs out of my backpack. The one lesson I learned on the trip ...

... the road 4 nights a week for a few hours, which i actually really like, i just got back from my second shift.<br>Pruning starts next week, so i am hoping to get that job during the day back out in the orchards then go to the resturant at night, keep me busy and hopefully start earning some money.<br>If you come to New Zealand, you HAVE to come here, its just gorgeous.

... possible to see the different types of rock following years of discoloration by the hot water. It was interesting to see how the plants have adapted to the atmosphere as has some of the life in the pools. Within the complex is a Maori tribal hut, over a 100 years old, which is used to enact the traditional Maori greeting to visitors. The spear waving dancers place something of the ground which the visitors if they come in ...

... Beach - a very nice resort with a great beach and good range of shops and bars. We settled for a drink at the Rose &amp; Thistle "English" pub (although the bar lady was Welsh) - got to have some home comforts and reminders (plus they were showing the New Zealand v West Indies test match!! A pint of lager for me and a Strongbow cider for Lisa - very cultured!! Back at ...

... the largest city in the western Bay of Plenty and an important commercial centre and port. It's sheltered by the Kaimai Range of mountains, which gave magnificent views when you drove over them. It's a major tourist location for well-to-do New Zealanders, with its beaches, wind-surfing, parasailing and diving. Deep sea fishing is anothe major attraction. We stopped for tea and muffins in the shadow of Mount Manuganui, built on a narrow peninsula at the ...

... you jesus! We saw two oceans collide, and the green and blue colours were amazing. All that water was so scary and overwhelming at first, it's indescribable. After that, we made it to some walking paths, Kaori trees (HUGE), and in Whangarai we were wanting to go to some glow worn caves but you need a flashlight and a guide...we decided to be adventerous and go by ourselves... not a good idea. First of all, i was wearing my croc jandels, and it had been raining the night before. So ...

Refreshed after our rafting we headed out from the centre of the North Island to The Bay of Plenty which we decided would be our first beach hangout of the next few days. We started at the Eastern end at a town called Whakatane which is mainly known as the point from which many people take an excursion to Whakaari or White Island which is the site of NZ's most active volcano. This is a privately owned island and aside from having had our fill ...

... voor me te hebben, maar middenin een verbouwing te zitten! De woonkamer lag compleet overhoop en mijn logeerkamer moest nog eerst even leeggeruimd worden. Hij werd gebruikt als opslagruimte voor glasvezel-isolatie en ander bouwmateriaal... Na nog even goed met de stofzuiger aan de slag te zijn geweest, vertoruwde ik het genoeg om de tweepersoonsmatras op de grond te leggen. De tv in de woonkamer werkte niet, dus na een avonddiner voor de tv in zijn slaapkamer, was het tijd om ...

... village where we visited the St Faiths Anglican church. Then we went to the Waimangu Volcanic Valley....which was bonkers!! We walked for two hours around the park which is made up of craters, bubbling lakes and streams, and we saw Frying Pan Lake whilst suffering a lot of sulphurous smells. It was brilliant. As we hadn't seen the rest of Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland we decided to head back to our campsite for ...

... keelpijn en een raar ding in zijn mond). We hebben het dus redelijk rustig aan gedaan. Na een bezoek aan de Government Garden (waar croquet en bowls werd gespeeld) zijn we richting Mount Manganui, aan de "Bay of Plenty" vertrokken. Onderweg zijn we door Te Puke gereden. Dit is de kiwi (fruit)-hoofdstad van de wereld. Voordat de kiwi (rond eind jaren zestig) internationaal een succes werd was deze in NZ bekend als de Chinese Kruisbes. Mount Manganui ligt aan ...