Geo: -38.1398, 176.247This morning, we caught the ferry back to Auckland from Waiheke Island. Then, jumped on a motor coach for a 5 hour drive to Rotorua. (Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand, with a population of 660,000. The total population of New Zealand is only 4.5 million, and it is 2.4 times the size of Virginia.)Once we were out of the city and driving through the center of the north island, the landscape reminded me of southwestern Virginia; a lot of farmland and cattle, with mountains resembling the Blue Ridge in the distance. As we got closer to Rotorua, we drove through more dense forests, with large ferns and palms.Rotorua is a geothermal wonderland in the central North Island that is also home to rich Maori culture and heritage. We checked into our
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