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Published: February 4th 2009
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Greetings all!
Sorry we haven't had much time to blog at the moment- been so busy!
We are in Rotorua (hot springs country!)at the moment- arrived yesterday lunchtime and will leave in the morning. We came down via Matamata (Lord of the Rings spot)- More of that in a moment!
To bring us up to speed- Spent a lovely week in the Bay of Islands in the end- it was blissful being by the ocean and dipping at least our toes in it everyday! We also took the time to do a walk through some Mangrove forests which took us to a the Haruru waterfalls. It was a nice foresty walk and we appreciated the shady patches (a roasting day)- saw some cute birds nesting too and did some fish spotting in a part that goes along boards through wetland.
Went out on our day boat trip too and saw some Bottle nose dolphins! unfortunately they had babies with them so we couldn't get in the water but they came right alongside the boat and we had a fantastic view of them- seemed very curious and playful.
Caught the bus back down to Auckland on Sunday and then Jinks flew in
from home to meet us on the Monday morning. we spent a nice day exploring Auckland- walked up the inactive volcano Mount Eden which is now masquerading as a grassy hill, where we got wonderful views over the city from coast to coast!
We also wondered round the harbour- especially full of boats at the moment for some 'Louis Vitton series' event, and went into Victoria Park markets which reminded me of Camden in London with lots of small trinket shops. Picked up our car too- now named Milford (after Milford Sound) and hes done us very well so far! Its a white car which does a fantastic job of adding to our bright tourist looks!
So yes, here we are in Sulphorous Rotorua. As i said we stopped in Matamata on the way to do the original 'Hobbiton' set tour! You take a bus out to the sheep farm where they built all the hobbit holes. Not much of it left now but enough to get a great feel for how it was. Sat on the stone steps outside Bag-End (that were used in the film), and the 'party tree' is still there too! We even got a sheep
shearing demonstration at the end and I (Izzy) got to bottle feed such a cute little lamb! As you probably tell I felt like such a big kid by the end of that day!
Weve had much more of an adventurous day today i can tell you! Spent this morning at the Thermal wonderland where you can see a Geyser erupting a few meters into the air, sulphorous pools bubbling away and generally enjoy an eggy smell in colorful rocky surroundings! They have a large Geyser that they drop soap into at a certain time every morning so that you can be sure to see it. We also saw very entertaining mud pools that seem to play away as if something is lurking just under the surface, and lots of very bright colored crystal formations and pools.
This afternoon we went white water rafting! It was really good fun (almost including the 7 metre waterfall they take you over- but i fell out......) nah, it was all good really! Very wet by the end but the river was nice and warm, and some great scenery if you took the time to look! we were on the water for about an
hour, lots of rapids and smaller waterfalls too. The biggest one is actually the tallest commercially rafted waterfall in the world apparently- so glad we did it!
Had a much more relaxing evening spent in the Polynesian pools- where you can soak in very hot water pools built around the natural springs etc in this area. We could have stayed for hours but dragged ourselves away in the end for fear of falling asleep in one! Its supposed to be great for skin, muscles etc depending on which particular one you're in.
Not quite sure what we're doing tomorrow- heading down to Napier via Taupo and will probably fit in a quick '3D Maze' in the morning!
So Ok- i hope that all makes sense as I've written this quick and i'm pretty tired! Quite an essay- but feel we needed a hefty update!
Hope all the Brits are surviving the beautiful weather I understand you're having at home!
Will definitely not leave it as long this time until we next blog
For now ta ta, catch you later!
All our love, Iz, Kt and now Jinks!
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anne jinks
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Hi all
Just read yesterdays blogg, all sounds amazing. Wish I was there. Will await to hear your next adventure. Have fun love mom (jinks)