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Around New Zealand in a Campervan Nobody Wanted
Oceania » New Zealand » North Island
March 18th 2005 by Gerry and Denise
The Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi
This is a stained glass window in the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute at Rotorua. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 between Great Britain and the Maori chiefs, supposedly one of the 'best dea... [more]
We headed straight for the campervan rental office in the airport with a view to hiring a van for a week or so. Unfortunately all the vans were already hired out "but there is one", the attendant said "but we donīt normally hire it out!" This appealed to Deniseīs maternal instincts so we said we would take it! We couldn't pick it up until the next day so we booked ourselves in to a Best Western Hotel nearby. Just before the sun set I (Gerry) went for a swim in the little outdoor swimming pool, but it was beginning to get cold and some rather excitable kids had just bellyflopped in beside me so I decided that rather then murdering them and having the problem of disposing of their bodies when their were 40 chalets with large patio windows facing the pool, I would quietly retire for the night.
They don't make em like they used to!
None of the hire companies had any campervans left, except this one. They said "we don't usually hire it out but you can have it if you want it", this definetly appealed to Denise's maternal instinct... [more]
In the morning down at the hire company offices we were sheepishly shown the poor beastie, which turned out to be small, very small, but it had a certain endearing quality. The next 10 days we drove round the North Island of New Zealand. We started in Rotorua, a geothermal-shooting geysers-mudbath wonderland!
Geysers at Rotorua
This place is full of geysers, boiling mudpools and geothermal activity. Our campsite had natural hot mineral spa pools!
Lake Waikaremoana, North Island
We stayed at this beautiful campsite by the lake. That was after a horrendous (but scenic) drive over the mountains on a rough gravel road from Rotorua to Napier. Last thing the hire company said wa... [more]
Mystical forest
To get to the waterfall we had to walk through an eery wood. The white background is a limestone cliff which looked like mist, when the kids in swimsuits came round the corner I nearly jumped out of ... [more]
National Tobacco Company Building, Napier, North Island
We visited Napier, the Art Deco City during their Art Deco Annual Weekend. This is a great place full of Art Deco buildings after it was rebuilt following an earthquake in 1931.
New Zealand's Flag
Map of New Zealand
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