Rotorua and East Cape

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Feb. 26 Rotorua

We spent our last day in Paihia just enjoying the place. The next day our hop on hop off bus (Magic Bus) picked us up at our hostel and then drove us the scenic route to Auckland. We made stops along the way at a forest to view the world’s 2nd oldest tree - at about 2000years old - and at other pretty view areas. Otherwise, uneventful.

Auckland was just an overnight and then a bigger Magic bus picked us up and we headed south. Again, lots of stops as we took the scenic route. Then that afternoon we hopped off our bus at a farmer’s field to take The Hobbiton Movie Set & Farm Tours. It was an afternoon well spent.
From there we had to take a smaller bus into Rotorua, which was okay. Then in the evening we went to a Maori cultural evening and dinner. Darrel was selected to be the chief of our bus ’family’, as where two men from the other two busses. But Darrel’s role was to be the main chief. He had to participate in the cultural greetings which consisted of his standing with the other two men at his side, while the Maori warriors did a display of their strength. He then had to pick up a branch as a symbol of friendship. It was his responsibility to lead his ’tribe’ into the village. He was given the honour of always being first to view a demonstration and to be seated for the show. Sure hope it doesn’t go to his head.

Today we wandered around Rotorua on our own. Five hours of exploring this fascinating area. Rotorua is build in a volcanic crater which is still an active geothermal area, with geysers, steaming hot springs, and pools of boiling mud. Added to this is the ever present rotten egg smell of the geo thermal gas, sulphur.. I am sure we will see even more of this amazing stuff.




Feb 27- East Cape

Easy start to the day as our tour bus didn’t pick us up until after 9am. We are headed on a three day trip around the East Cape, out of Rotorua and there are only 3 of us taking this tour, Darrel, me and a lady from England, Alicyn. Our driver is Leigh is a very outgoing, knowledgeable guide who promises to make this a good trip.
After being picked up we started a fairly long drive to Gisborne with our first quick stop to view Mount White, an active volcano. Sure would love to do the tour to the edge of the crater on this mountain. Leigh said that the day of the earthquake in Christchurch, the steam over the volcano created a huge mushroom cloud. There is still a lot of steam rising from it.
Our next stop was to walk over the old Tauranga Bridge that is no longer used, at least it got us out of the car. This whole area is deep ravine through the hillside. Another stop was at the Cascade Waterfall where we filled our water bottles. Then it was non stop to Gisborne. We had 2.5 hours to kill here so while Alicyn went for a swim at the beach, Darrel and wandered around town and then to the beach. As we were wandering we came upon a small park, that much to our surprise, had a totem pole from British Columbia standing in it. It was gifted to NZ on its 200th birthday. There is plaque explaining why it is there, but there is no information about where it came from or who the original carvers where.
As it is a Sunday, not much was open. We couldn’t even find a place to grab a bite to eat. When Leigh picked us up we did a quick tour of the city. It is a nice place and very picturesque when seen from the look out. This is the area that James Cook first landed in New Zealand.
Our stop that first night was at Tatapouri where we stayed in a house that had been converted to a hostel. The three of us were the only guest so we had our own rooms. One thing for sure about this place…I found the New Zealand that I came looking for. We are staying right at the beach in a beautiful bay, about 15 minutes outside of Gisborne, but seemly miles away. Most of the people living in this area are Maori and the area is steeped in Maori culture.
We were up by 6:30 the next morning to watch the sunrise. Gisborne is the first city in the world to see the sunrise. We are 21 hours, or almost a day, ahead of home where the world sees some of the last sunsets.
This second day was not to be a very long one as we only had a 2 hour drive ahead of us. I told Leigh that I had been trying to connect with a friend’s mum, Ngaere, who lived along this coast but it was beginning to look almost impossible to meet her. When I told Leigh who it was she asked Dean, the owner of our accommodations in Tatapouri, and he knew exactly who we were talking about. He gave Leigh the directions and she agreed to take us there. Turns out that as a child, Leigh played in the area where Ngaere lives and she had always wanted to know what was beyond that ‘forbidden’ gate and roadway. Thanks to Leigh, we had a short but wonderful visit with Gretchen’s mum. This was definitely the highlight of our trip around the Cape.
After a brief stop at Tolaga Bay to walk the 600m wharf, we continued on to Rangitukia where we stayed in the cabins at Eastender Horse Treks. Most fascinating part of this area is the beach. The continental shelf is just off the shore and the waves roll in with a roar. Apparently the undertow is big enough to pull in a truck. We stayed a respectful distance from these waves.
Out final day was a long one as we headed back to Rotorua. We did make a stop at the East Cape Lighthouse where we climbed the 350 or so steps up the steep cliff. On the way up we finally saw one of the bugs that make the constant ringing sounds in the bush. (even got a picture of it). Then, of course it was another 350 steps back down the hill. Strangely enough, both of us have sore calve muscles today.

Mar. 2 Back in Rotorua
Quiet day today. Did take the time to explore the museum here. It was originally build as a thermal/medical spa. The building is very impressive and was well worth the time we spend there. It is currently being restored so half of it was closed.

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Photos

White Mountain
An active volcano near Rotorua

Totem pole
In Gisborne

Sunrise at Tatatouri
First city in the world to see the daybreak Gisborne