Rotorua

  Rotorua, New Zealand
Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Hello everyone!!!


It's been a while since the last update where we left you in Hanmer Springs.



We have travelled quite a way and now are back in the North Island and we have condensed most of it into this update.






After relaxing in the hot pools we headed to Kaikoura for a couple of days. This place is famous for swimming with wild dolphins.


As it was Chris's birthday we decided that a quick dip with the marine life would a great way to take his mind off being a year older.



We had to get up at 5:00 am ...yes 5:00 am!!!! This apparently is the best time to see the dolphins as they return from deep ocean after a night of feeding.

As you can see the weather was amazing!!!



So yet again it was on with the wetsuits for a 20 min boat trip to find the dolphins.



The water was a cool 13 degrees....we quickly found the dolphins and around 20 people jumped in. It was just amazing!!! We had a pod of about 200 Dusky dolphins swimming around us. They were very curious and we all made lots of noise through our snorkels to attract them.



It was fantastic! When you made eye contact with one they circled you and if you tried to keep up with them they would swim faster and faster till you could't keep up anymore. We were in the water with them for 40 minutes but it seemed to end so quickly.



This is one of the best things we had ever done in our lives. What made it even better was great was that they are totally wild and could leave at anytime.



Kaikoura was great and we really enjoyed our couple of days there. We then travelled up to Blenheim which was only a short drive away. We saw a seal colony one the way and some more great views!!!



This is Mount Tongariro!!! This is the start of Tongariro National Park. There are three volcanoes and you can just make out the second one on the left of the picture.



We stayed in Blenhiem for one night as the next day we would be taking the ferry from Picton back to Wellington on the north island. On the way we saw someone moving home....literally moving home!!!



This is a photo of Picton harbour!!! The sun was shining and the beach front was full of people.



After the ferry crossing we travelled up the west side of the island and ended up at Waitomo. We came here to go black water rafting!!!

Black water rafting entails wearing another wetsuit.....is there a pattern here??? You then get a rubber tube and take it through a crack in the mountain to travel down an underground river!!!

Aagin this was great....there was a few times where you had to jump backwards off waterfalls in the pitch black...quite scary but great fun.



As you travel down, turning off your light reveals millions of glow worms on the cave ceiling...well to be precise GLOW WORM POO!!!!

The glow worm's poo glows in the dark and attracts mosquitoes that get stuck in a sticky line hanging down...very clever!!

As you can see we do the most attractive activities!!!! Check out the shoes!!!



Looking good!!!

We left Waitomo and headed for Rotorua, a hot bed of geothermal activity. Rotorua is very similar to Yellowstone park in the USA.

A tip for you all....don't go to Hell's Gate (geothermal area) with a hangover!!!



The sulphur smell is really bad and Chris struggled around heaving most the way!!



This is a hot water waterfall!

A visit to Rotorua is not complete without a cultural visit to a Maori village.



We spent a few hours at Tamaki village and saw how Maori's lived before Europeans came.
We were also treated to traditional dances and food that was cooked in the ground. All in all is was a worthwhile experience.



We are now in Auckland for a while and have a couple more trips to make before we leave for Australia.

Before we go Chris is thinking of taking up a new hobby.......what do you think ?!?!?