Tauranga and Rotorua New Zealand

---

What an amazing place. Worth the trip down all the way. The ocean is so beautiful here. The people are even more lovely. We chose a shore excursion that was going to give us many different things. First we boarded a nice motor coach and drove about an hour to Rototura. The drive was very nice with grazing sheep, cows and horses in rolling mountains that provided many snap shot opportunities. Once we arrived in city of Rotorua we boarded WWII amphibious water crafts, called "Ducks" and rode in those through the local parks. We also received duck calls so we could quack as we drove around. very annoying and fun. And then we splashed into two lakes. Our driver was entertaining and even played the mission impossible theme as we went onto the water. We all looked as we splashed in to make sure there were no leaks, our vessel and remained dry. It was a fantastic way to get a great view of the amazing scenery. After our amphibious adventure we continued in the coach to the Skyline. At the Skyline we boarded cable cars and took a beautiful ride up. Once on top of the mountain we were provided a lovely lunch. After lunch we headed for the luge. Now this was fun. We climbed aboard this little luges that sailed us down the mountain we took the cable car up from. One and a half miles. It was a thrill. Our ticket only included one ride, so we had to do it a second time. Well, their tag line is, "Once is never enough". But two was good. The first time we took the scenic route, the second time, the intermediate route. It was fun. There is potential for recklessness and if you are an idiot, you will roll. There was one girl trying to impress her boyfriend that got a severe case of road rash. She doesn't look too impressive now, the helmet did not protect her face. Ouch! When we were done we reboarded our coach for a return trip to our ship. On our ride we saw glorious beaches we wanted to dip our toes into. As I write this, the ship's horn just sounded. A call out to the sea for permission to sail. Next stop, Auckland.

---