Pineland Motor Lodge Rotorua

... a few strange looks from passer-by&#8217;s as we were parked in a residential neighbourhood outside someone&#8217;s house! On the way to Ngongotaha we stopped off in Te Puke - kiwi capital - and visited Kiwi 360. We climbed up a giant kiwi structure and bought a few souvenirs from the shop then got back on the road. <br>

... me by surprise! I was really rubbish at the schweebing, could get the hang of the gears so Nick managed to lap me on a 3 lap race. The zorbing was loads of fun, they put warm water in the zorb and then I went down a wiggly track, it was so much fun falling around!<br><br>The next day we went to the public park to look at the thermal springs (very smelly) before we set off for Waitomo.<br>

... ist 15 u. ein Teenager wie aus dem Lehrbuch. Echt klasse. Das ist eine Fam. zum verlieben! Fuer uns Woofer gibt es auf Paterre in diesem riesigen Haus eigene Schlafzimmer, eine Kueche, einen Aufenthaltsraum (Wohnzimmer mit Couch u. Fernsehen, Laptop, ein Bad,... supi cool) Hoffe Morgen ist das Wetter besser. Dann gehts naemlich mit dem hauseigenen Boot zu Hot Water Pools...mm das waere schoen. Heute war der See zu rau. Kuss in die Ferne Silvi

... climbing the hill looking for her flipflop with Laura at the bottom trying to guide her to where she thought it was. After fun and games at the Luge, we had overrun on time and were due to be picked up at 3.20pm from Rainbow Springs nature park which was next door. This meant we had 30 mins to visit the park before our shuttle back, fortunately once inside the park we realised it was not very big at all, and infact 30 mins was just enough time. The main purpose of ...

... black and all you can hear around you is the scratching and sniffing and quiet squeaking of the birds. And all you can see is glow-worms. I think I mentioned when we saw them before on the South Island. You usually find them in damp caves, but they were here growing on the underside of up-rooted trees. Their little blue glows really are beautiful. But the point of this walk were the kiwis. We were ...

... soap but they did assure us that it would happen anyway, just wouldn't be quite as predictable, which as a tourist would be a bit of a problem when trying to get to see and do stuff. After that I strolled round the various lakes and things that they had in the park, enjoying a little bit of exercise, the first for a little while. Once I had adjusted to the smell, it was a great walk. From Rotorua I turned the car north again and headed home to Auckland. I did ...

... some parsley and a few pieces of diced celery. Lay in a few pork bones and on these place 4 pork chops. (chicken can be added or used in place of pork bones). Place on top of bones, 4 potatoes, 4 trimmed kumara. Lay cabbage over the bones. Place enough cabbage for 4 and if possible some watercress. Add 1 and a half cups of water. No salt is needed. Cover the dish with tin foil. Place lid on top and bake for 3 and a half hours. Serves four. Developed by Charles Royal http://www.maorifood.com/hangi.htm

So we set off from Taupo on our way to Rotorua, we had planned to make a couple of stops along the way, firstly at geothermal park which has geysers, bubbling mud etc, and then some geothermally heated pools. First of all, we went arrived at the geothermal park, intending to visit the Lady Knox geyser, as it only erupts at 10.15 each day. We thought we were on time, however when we tried to buy tickets, the lady behind the counter told us that we ...

... it's a really mind-boggling sight. <br><br>It looks just like the night sky, and the spaces between the lights even look like the branches in a forest, so you can completely understand how the insects are fooled. <br><br>The caves themselves offer the perfect conditions for the glow-worms, as they're humid (cocoons don't dry up), dark (insects can't see strands ...

... 80km north to Rotoru*, which is inst*ntly detect*ble by the whiff of sulphur in the *ir - you do get used to it. En route we stopped *t W*i-o-t*pu 'Therm*l Wonderl*nd' for * huge mud pool, sinter terr*ces m*de of silic*, *cres of ste*ming ground *nd gener*l geotherm*l shen*****ns. The ground *lso fumes *round Rotoru* L*ke; Andy w*s * little unnerved to find his l*kefront stroll ending *t the bl*nk side of * sign whose front re*d 'd ...