Sebel Trinity Wharf Tauranga

... vodka, conaucpunch and we headed outside again. We went to Settlers, a really odd pub where Lee, Billy and Ben were and played pool. I joined in my state mind making me either amazing or terrible fr that is the way when pool and Alchol mix (the way when swimming pools and Alchol mix is different). <br><br>Then it was 2am, some people had disappeared off dancing and the pub was asking us to leave (because they were closing not because of ...

... dinner the first evening in Rotorua where the smell of sulphur was practically non-existant (near the water edge where a little breeze does wonders). The place we picked was a steak restaurant that did stone grilling, but what they gave us was a flaming hot (400 degrees celcius they told us) slab of ROCK that we then used ourselves to fry our own steak :D Getting a raw cut of meat together with a hot stone to then prepare your own dinner with is a fun experience and Martijn enjoyed ...

... to the 'Surface of the Moon' we had visited earlier. Then it was on to Napier. Napier is famous for its art-deco styling and the Lonely Planet had a short walking tour to take in the main points of interest. I didn't really know what art-deco meant, but I realise now that it means 'orange coloured'. One of the most unusual sights was a giant gorilla appearing out of the top of a building. I'm not sure that it counted as art-deco, but I liked it ...

we settled in a campsite for two days, first off there is the museum to visit, the receptionist told us it was better than the buried village, how right she was ,the building alone was amazing &amp; could have easily spent a day there, but lots more to do,take the sky lift cable car which was a very gentle ride up the mountain,alongside was a lugo which is a sledge so if you feel energectic thats for you, we did not feel energectic!there was also a sky swing which we also just ...

... every shard in the next glass field. So this time a completely flat tire, more rude words, I politelytexted work to tell them I'd be late. An hour later I still couldn't get the dam tire to inflate, I texted work again to say I wouldn't be in anytime soon. It was time for plan B. I locked the bike to a post but kept the rear wheel with me and set off for the bus back the way I had come. Then things got a bit bizarre. I got the bust to the nearest ...

... and we were on our way. It took a couple of hours to arrive in Rotorua. We called in at the tourist information centre and after bustling our way through the crowds of backpackers just arrived on a bus, we headed for the campsite which was pretty decent. One interesting site was a Maori Land Court in the town. As has happened in Australia and the Aborigines, NZ has over the last 20 years ...

Thursday 30 October Tauranga S 37° 42.9' E 176° 09.8' Set off early from Taupo and headed for the thermal area, on a clear but cool day with breeze. I mainly visited the Wai-O-Tapu area, which has more large flat thermal phenomena than the Waimangu valley but is a bit les scenic. Apart, that is, from the Lady Knox geyser, which is ...

... picturesque community into a mudslide and waste land forever more. The result, apart from devastation, is of several remaining homes, literally buried halfway down in mud which you can visit and read about the traumatic event in a museum. It's an absolutely beautiful place and to see the last few 1-storey homes remaining, standing at odd angles half in the ground is quite alarming. You can go inside the homes and there are tree roots growing under the roof. We walked around the ...

... pools all are the most amazing colours due to the different minerals present in the water. Further attractions nearby include the Geyser which erupts at 10.15 daily. The timing is not natural as one of the rangers prompts the eruption by tossing in a bar of soap, which breaks the surface tension and sets off the eruption. Apparently this was how the geyser was discovered when some prisoners, working in the area, washed their clothes in the hot ...

We headed up to the Bay of Plenty hoping for some beach time! Tauranga is a really nice little city on the harbour that we stayed in for a night. There were a lot of nice resturants and bars on the street we were staying on. The best park was the view from the hostel we stayed in ...