Palm Court Motor Inn Rotorua

... We weren&#8217;t too impressed with Taupo, though this was probably due to the weather. We went for fish and chips (as advised as a top thing to do by the guide book) but were also disappointed by this as it was from a Chinese takeaway and they sold us ketchup in a tin.<br><br>The view across the lake was really misty so we wandered around the town before getting back on the road to our campsite at Glen falls nature reserve which was nearby to Napier. <br><br>

... will have narrative (it was pre written). I hope to find time at a later date to add narrative for the last two NZ entries.<br><br>I hope all is great with each of you, and despite my frustration (you can probably read it in the tone of this entry), Thailand has been great and I am looking forward to hiking the Himalayas/Annapurna Range next week!

Schoenen, guten Abend! Die erste Woche bei der Woofing Familie ist bald rum. Bleibe voraussichtlich bis naechsten Freitag. Ich suche mir gerade bezahlte Arbeit als fruit picker. Die Sims, das ist die Fam. die mich derzeit gegen 4 Std. Arbeit bei sich wohnen u. mitessen laesst. Die Arbeit beinhaltet im Haushalt u. beim Kochen helfen, Wege im Busch anlegen, der Garten geht in einen richtigen Busch ueber u. in NZ kann jeder eigene Wanderwege anlegen ...

... rocks in an earthen oven and were shown how this was done. It was a really good evening with good food and entertainment. Afterwards we were dropped back at the hostel at 10.30pm, and went to the bar for a few drinks before bed. 11th April 2009 Everything was open as normal today which meant we had to go food shopping for supplies and easter eggs. After the 30 min walk to the supermarket and back and the hour we spent deciding on what to buy, we didn't have a lot of ...

... a pine tree but they shoot straight up and then get wide - really, really wide - and even taller. We saw both the tallest and the widest ones remaining...the Maori refer to the tallest as the god of the forest and the widest as the father of the forest. You can't get very close to them because of their sanctity and because their roots are very sensitive. But their forests make great places for kiwi birds to ...

... ok so our waka was not a canoe it was a bus, but the principle stands), to experiencing the challenge followed by the welcome and then a concert of traditional dancing and music after we had walked through a traditional Maori village. The evening finished with a Hangi which has to be one of the best ways to cook lamb!!!! It was delicious. I was so impressed by the way the whole place has been put together and the passion about the Maori way of life which ...

... and then you can take a well deserved liquid refreshment. This is a good time to make a green salad, gravy and prepare to boil green veges, e.g peas. Leave the hangi for 2- 3 hours before digging it out to serve. Peel the soil off the hangi from the top to the bottom and do like wise with the sacks and cloths. All eyes peer hungrily at the food as the smell of cooked food rises in the evening air. Is it cooked?. It is. It can rarely be overcooked. Let the hangi begin. 10 ...

... part Irish! What an interesting heritage to have! In Rotarua I also got to see the All-Blacks beat the Aussies in the Tri-Nations cup, which was greeted with much celebration, and led to a great atmosphere in the town later that night! I also got to see lots of geo-thermal activity just outside Rotarua, at the Lady Knox Geyser, boiling mud pools, and the Wai-O-Tapu geothremal area. This was an unbelieveable sight. miles of volcanic craters ...

... the local river. <br><br>Once inside the caves, the insects get thoroughly confused, and when they see the myriad lights above them they believe they're seeing the night sky, and fly upwards... to their death. <br><br>Unbeknown to them, the cunning little glow worms have made a series of cocoons on the ceiling of the cave, and from these cocoons they've spun very ...

... s 'ste*m' next to the big clouds drifting *cross from * geotherm*l power st*tion.Highlights *round T*upo included bubbling mud pooles, the Cr*ters of the Moon *re* where the ground ste*ms *nd fumes, the refilling r*pids *t Ar*t*it* (they turn them on for 30 minutes three times * d*y!) , *nd the view of the three mount*ins Ru*pehu, Ng*uruhoe *nd Tong*riro, the scene of the big w*lk. From *cross L*ke T*upo the profile is * t*ll ...