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Published: February 14th 2014
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The Dome in NapierTuesday we left Wellington and followed the coast road which was much busier than we have been used to with Wellington commuter traffic. After a few miles we branched off inland at Levin and found ourselves passing through a fertile valley which was full of fruit and vegetable growing areas. The landscape became more English looking than before with trees scattered about instead of in large forests. We then saw lots of electricity generating windmills on the top of the ridges all busily rotating in the prevailing winds. New Zealand is largely self sufficient at generating its own power from renewable energies.....wish we were!!! We then wound our way through a very narrow gorge to get to the east side of the central mountains and emerged into a flatter greener plain. This was appeared to be a predominantly dairy producing area and as we approached Napier it became largely maize, fruit and wine growing areas. It took us over three hours to get to Napier where we stopped for an extended break and found ourselves in another charming city full of character. In 1931 the town was destroyed by an earthquake and the people decided to rebuild the centre in an
The Artist Palette at Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland RotoruaArt Deco style. These buildings are still there in abundance and give this seaside city a unique feel. We continued our journey inland again towards Lake Taupo and found ourselves climbing steeply into the mountains passing miles of fir tree forests. There was a abundance of wild pampas grass growing alongside the road and sticking up in amongst the trees. We arrived at Lake Taupo which is the largest lake in New Zealand and it looked like a sea. A short break here and we set of once more to stopping at the amazing Huka Falls, another must see if you are in this area and eventually after six and a half hours driving we arrived in Rotorua which is 1302 feet above sea level. The first thing you notice in the town is the smell of sulphur!! Pooh but you soon get used to it. Wednesday and we set of early to get to the Wai-O-Tapu thermal area to see the Lady Knox geyser which erupts daily at 10.15 am. This was very impressive and the whole area is unlike anything we have ever seen. Steaming pools of boiling water, boiling mud pools, craters with bubbling mud and vents
Maori dancerscalled fumaroles where the steam erupts from the ground. All around was the smell of sulphur, it was like walking on another planet. The names given to some of the spots were in keeping with the drama of the area , names like Devil's Ink Pots, Thunder Crater, Devil's Bath and Inferno Crater. We then went to a really lovely Maori Cultural centre called Te Puia and were treated to a Maori cultural performance which we thoroughly enjoyed. We were serenaded, challenged with a Haka and entertained by a traditional stick throwing dance and the ladies Poi dance which involved twirling pairs of soft balls around without getting them tangled. It was a great performance, a real highlight of our day. We returned to Rotorua and Penny decided she need another fix of retail therapy so we hit the shops......again!!!!!!!!
Thursday and we set of towards the Coromandel Peninsula. We drove through steep sided gorges and high plains with cattle, sheep and even alpaca grazing in the fields, and eventually we dropped down to reach the East coast and The Bay of Plenty. We stopped at Taurangi, which is the largest seaside town on the bay, and at Katikati.
Cathedral Cove cave from the water taxiThis town is well known for its large number of murals painted on the towns buildings by local artists. From there the coast road became extremely windy for a long time and a stretch of straight road became a luxury. The hills were covered with both fir trees and fern trees which seem to grow in abundance here. On arrival at Cook's beach we collected our tickets for a free ride on the water taxi which left from Hahei beach and took us to Cathedral Cove. Getting on the taxi off a beach being swept with high waves was no mean feat and the result was sodden shorts and lots of laughs. In a few minutes we landed again on the beach at the most spectacular Cathedral Cove. This cave was used in the film Prince Caspian and is where the children re-entered Narnia. We walked through the cave onto the beach featured in the film and for a brief moment felt we had got to Narnia. The return journey in the taxi was equally exciting so we quickly made our way to our B & B to change into dry clothes.
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Helen & Dave
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Coromandel and Rotorua
Fantastic blog and photos again. It's just amazing to re-live this trip through your descriptions and images. We were thrilled you got to Cathedral Cove and glad to see you can still walk through the 'cathedral'. We had read somewhere that it had now become too dangerous. Isn't that rock formation at the far end of that 'Narnia' beach something else! Rotorua...what can I say? A brilliant experience and your sunrise photo sent shivers up my spine and took me right back to our morning spa bath looking onto that exact scene. I didn't get my photo taken with the toy boy but I can see you were right in there Penny. Did you rub noses with him or anything else??? What a trip! You are making such fantastic memories. xxxxx