Waiteti Lakeside Lodge Rotorua

... 1502;ום של כ-2 שעות באגם הכחול והירו 11; מסלול יפה מאוד ליד העייר 92;

לאחר חזרה לעייר 92; ליה הפ ...

... a Maori challenge, which determines friend or foe. We went into their meeting house for Waiata (songs), Poi dance, weaponary displays and the haka (blates). We then had a massive feast on a buffet of traditional hangi (which is cooked in the ground on hot rocks). Kai = food. Then we had snow!! Bloody cold stuff that should NOT be there. It wasn't just us who thought that: the locals hadn't seen snow in that area for over 60 years. Go figure.

... course was flying past us but he nearly came off the luge twice he said - you pick up so much speed. It was fun though. It's in Queenstown so we will prob do it there aswell.

We had timed everything to perfection that day and we just back in time to get ready before we were picked up for the Maori night. It turned out a retired northern irish couple were at our table so we were chatting to them. We were led outside and we saw the Maori canoe come ...

... able to go in one of them...Bilbo's hole Bag End. It was neat to know that I was standing where Gandalf had driven his cart into Hobbiton, and where Merry and Pippin set off the dragon at the party, and right under the party tree that is seen in the movie! Silly maybe, but it was fun! There are even rumors that the company will come back to that site to film the movie The Hobbit!

... happy snap' areas (as Josh would put it). Today we went to the Karangahake Reserve gorges. I know going for a walk across a rocky swing bridge with boys jumping up and down sounds like anyones idea of hell (especially for those of us who are terrified of heights) but you'd be surprised how enjoyable it is. In fact, it seemed to sort the hangovers out because you become so distracted by the beautiful ...

... Zealand by man. The next day to a gondola (cable car) to the Skyline Skyride park on the hilltops to get a panoramic view of Rotorua and the lake. Here we went on luge, which is effectively a go cart without an engine and just breaks, and took a speedy roll down the hill along some little race tracks. Great fun. After this we headed to Hells Gate, a geothermal park where we saw bubbling mud pools in excess of 100oC, small geysers of steam emerging from the ...

... visit to the Canon repair center in Bangkok or the purchase of a new camera. Quite the downer for A2 as photography is a huge passion and essential for her travels. For now we will have to make do with B2's G9 until we can get the 40D up and running. So departing the broken glass beach we drove towards Waitamo Caves stopping at a collapsed limestone cave that formed a natural bridge. It was stunning and we were there alone ...

... smell. After Wai-o-tapu, we visited Waimangu geothermal park later that afternoon. This park is quite different from Wai-o-tapu, spreading through a valley with forests and lakes. A 1.5hrs walk allowed us to enjoy the view of the lakes and craters through the park, but admittedly, we didn't find Waimangu as impressive as Wai-o-tapu (although we did not take the available cruise). Our tour through the geothermal parks ended with a visit to the mud pools ...

... that I started to think about the sky dive again, and how it was one of the two 'must dos' I was set for my trip here. And the weather today is good again, so really there was no excuse. It was beginning to become inevitable that I would throw myself out of a plane, attached to a 'Tandem Master'. But for someone who (a) is scared of heights; (b) doesn't like small planes one bit; (c) is a No 1 wimp - to go out and spend £100 to be terrified, plus having to ...