Grand Central Hotel New Plymouth

... that this entire region is still an active volcanic area. In fact almost every motel we passed advertised that they had hot pools available for their guests. Ah nature...gotta love it!<br><br>We didn't stay too long in the Taupo area. Not that we didn't appreciate that Rotorua and Taupo are known to be home of some of the worlds' "super volcanos". Our goal for a few days now has been the trio of mountains; Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom ...

... hoping to see more than that, as thats all i saw at home! It has reminded me how cute kiddies are though! Never had such well behaved kids in a paeds clinic! So yesterday we climbed mount taranaki as i said we might. Was a ***** of a climb but well worth it. Infact we drove most the way up, and climbed an hour or so up the ski fields there. They are only expert ski fields due to the incline, but at the moment the snow wasnt there so they ...

... like a classic volcano - the type Dylan might draw in fact. Here's an ariel view of it Finishing work while it was still light on the Monday I took the car up the road from North Egmont, which got me about half way up and to great views. Luckily the clouds had cleared too A great way to finish a day's work

... during our stay. When not cloaked in cloud the mountain dominates the skyline and is snow capped year round. Its slopes have some really great walking tracks and for the more adventurous one can trek 5 hours up to the summit, a task not to be taken lightly as the weather conditions can change without warning. On average one person dies on the mountain each year. In the winter months skiing and snow boarding are popular activities. Just 10 minutes down the road is New ...

... with my flash. :( Towards the end of the second-half of the show people started to get wild and crazy and jump in the moat! Some decided to go naked, others just took of their shirts. A small part of me wanted to join in (clothed, of course), but then I decided it would have taken more than two beers to get me to jump in! It was HILARIOUS. Until they started splashing and Jack had to stop and tell them to knock it off because he was plugged in and that would ...

... left the car was pr*bably the w*rst place p*ssible t* leave a car as that stretch *f r*ad is pr*ne t* break in's and thrashings. Hmm. Sure en*ugh *n the way *ut we passed a car that had been *n the side *f the r*ad that m*rning and was n*w smashed in and burned *ut. And then I n*ticed a few m*re... But mine was still th**e and unm*lested. Earli** I had had a call fr*m a man named Russel that wanted t* buy my car. I had a f*r sale sighn with a numb** *n it ...

... the first town with a cafe/ bat at Whangamomona and got to Stratford in about 2.5 hours. From Stratford we drove up SH3 to New Plymouth. At New Plymouth we set up at the Top 10 site and had dinner, we met Paula and Lee, who were cycling through NZ. They actually set off in Alaska and have cycled all the way here! I'm impressed but I think they're crazy too. We went into town and walked along the front. We oo'd and ah'd at the "wind wand" a tall thin pole with a light on the end ...

... Tarinaki south of it which i wanted to get a closer look at but didn't have time so sufficed with distant photo's, it's beautiful though! The museum there was great but i was really tired after a surf lesson so I didn't get a lot of info really. Surf lesson was amazing! managed to stand up for a split second! loved it! Can't wait for next time, going to try to really get into it in Oz! We went to a big big park there, looking for a 2000 ...

... I couldn't tell if they were linked to the books around them; this could be a missed opportunity and "infopods" in the museum with links to library resources. The children's area was especially well done. They used projectors to place shapes such as planets, Maori images, and animals on the floor-right at child level. The shelving and fittings were again grey and industrial-looking, but nicer, classier, and seemingly of better ...