We decided to hang around the house and the town instead of taking a bus to the North to see the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. It was a 2.5 hour drive, an hour tour and a 2.5 hour trip back. Everyone raves about it but we just didn’t think the little buggers were worth it. We really like our hosts and our Lakeside Lodge and there’s so much to see and do here. The day started with a little more fishing. Saw that same trout but no luck. After a hearty breakfast, we drove to the Wai-o-Tapu Geothermal Area to see the Lady Knox Geyser blow. They put soap in the geyser so it goes off exactly at 10:15. (Soap…really!) We also hiked past craters, hissing mud pools, silica terraces, waterfalls and green pools. There was ... read more

Today was spent on a volcanic crater on an offshore island. The day started out very “dodgy”. We left for the bus with plenty of time to spare…until. We forgot the camera, so we screamed back to the inn. “Oh wait, Brian had it the whole time!” Brian and Amy tear off to make the bus but are now late. In his hurry, Brian backs the car into a bench, and forgets he’s in New Zealand and drives into oncoming traffic with Amy saying “Go Left, Go Left!” We just made it and we scramble onto the bus like typical crazy Americans. After a few deep cleansing breaths on the bus ride, we arrive at our port and the boat is beautiful. After an hour boat ride, we offload onto the volcanic island. The pictures say ... read more

Today was primarily driving to Rotorua to the south. No pics. We made a brief stop in “Hobbiton” (also known as Matamata) for a photo op and a quick bite. We then buzzed through Tirau, the home of the big sheep and sheepdog (see pictures). We tried “hokeypokey” ice cream - a New Zealand favorite. Don’t know what’s in it but we like it! We arrived at our B&B (Ngongotaha Lakeside Lodge) in the late afternoon and the owners are very nice and quite helpful. The view of the lake is fantastic and our host is going to take us fishing one day. After a quick spin around the town and some great Thai food, we found our way back and prepared for our big day tomorrow. That’s all for now, stay tuned.... read more

Today we headed to the Coromandel Peninsula, southeast of Auckland. We said goodbye to the Bavaria B&B and rented our little car. Driving on the left side of the road was really pretty easy and we made it out of the city and on to the highway. We took a few stops to enjoy the scenery, do some shopping, and hunt some geocaches. We even stopped at someone’s house to buy some avocadoes. Our route crossed some small mountains and there were some sections just like West Virginia switchbacks. The scenery along the Coromandel Coast was beautiful, lots of looks over blue harbors as we wound through the mountains right along the water. (Note from Amy: Brian is doing a fantastic job driving and all I’m doing is feeling sick from all of the “swirlies”). We ... read more

I should have named this entry “Still raining”. We haven’t seen the sun in 4-5 days and Brian is starting to freak out. Chris was our tour guide and a very cool guy. We had a long discussion of New Zealand politics and their stance of nuclear programs at lunch. Our first stop was an ancient Kauri forest and it was pouring. Short shop. After stopping about 10 times for bathrooms (lots of old people on the bus) and a long drive up a gravel road, we made it to the top of New Zealand and …the sun! A great setting where the Tasman sea and the Pacific come together. This point of the Island is called Cape Reinga and has some significance to the Maori. A small tree grows on a bit of rock and ... read more