Ventura Inn and Suites Rotorua

... feel one brush aside you, just let it do its thing (which should only last 30 sec.) and don't freak. In a matter of minutes we were hopping out of the bus and headed down to the river. Robert and Ben sat in the front, 2 girls from England sat in the 2nd row, and Hannah and Kelly sat in the 3rd row, for I was picked to sit in the back with our raft guide, Chonk.<br> This is where ...

... What, were we working the next day?)...<br><br>Holy pancakes, the place was PACKED. It was loud and hot with cheap beer and terrible music - we loved it. One drink became two became three became four and suddenly we - meaning me, Amanda and four of our new best friends - were the last ones in the place. We were an odd mix - three locals, three travellers - and I've no recollection of how any of us started chatting, but it was just such a brilliant night ...

... finished dinner we were taken outside to a vehicle which took us down to the 2 Geyser which erupted just as we got down there. We were told that they shoot up to 30 metres in the air and would continue to erupt for up to 30 minutes. We were directed to some hot rocks to sit on to watch the show and give a cup of hot chocolate to drink while we were there. After the show we headed back to the hotel room and settle down to bed.

... and was moving swiftly across the surface with the wind forming mini-whirlwinds. There was a castle-like rock formation on the side of the lake with a huge chimney-like volcanic vent that pumped out steam. Steam rose up from the lakes into the forest-covered craters. The whole place looked so other-worldly. Now for a brief history of the place. In 1886, Mt Tarawera in Rotorua erupted, destroying the ...

... got back just in time to get picked up for our evening event.  We were going to a Maori hangi (feast).  Our driver, Mark, got us prepared for the event.  First, he explained "kia ora" to us.  That phrase is a both a coming and going greeting, thank you, you're welcome, but literally translates to something like "I'm glad to be alive."  He explained this by giving the translation for something like 54 countries.  While Australia, UK, and US were similar, he did the ...

Hot Water Beach is situated (as the name perhaps suggests) right on top of a volcanic area. This means that, if you dig a hole in the right place, it will fill up with hot water - a kind of personal outdoor bath. We were up early the next morning then; aiming to catch the tide going out and find oursleves a hot pool before the crowds arrived. Unfortunately, some big waves and a wrong tide time meant we had to hang around until about 11 ...

... a visit to the Polynesian Spa and spent a half an hour in our own private natural thermal pool which was nice. Later that night we met up with others from the campsite and went to a Mauri concert and Hangi (Where they cook the food in the ground). The show was class and the meal was gorgeous, the show finished with the tribe doing the Haka. Next day we hit the road early for Waitomo.

... de leurs origines et se refusent à oublier leurs traditions. De nombreuses cérémonies sont donc reconstituées et proposées aux touristes, leur permettant de mieux comprendre cette culture. Après avoir visité The Hell's Gate, nous décidons de participer à l'une de ces représentation qui se terminera par un dîner traditionnel.

(Originally published at http://www.troysgonewalkabout.com)<br>< br>A new coach, new tour manager, new driver and some new people, but a morning spent touring old sights &#8211; Mount Eden and a visit to Sky Tower for those who hadn&#8217;t had a chance to visit before the tour started, and then it was time to leave the big smoke of NZ&#8217;s biggest city behind. Contiki tours just aren&#8217;t Contiki tours without a day song and I was starting to ...