New Zealand .....The North Island..Corramandle Peninsular and Rotorua

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So after a week in Australia cruising down the east coast in our automaticstaying in overpriced dodgey motels...we headed on a flight to Auckland where we found the best the city had to offer; a falafel house and a coffee shop!!! We stopped for one night picked uyp our camper...the famous Tui....to become our priced possesion...and started to cruise heading south east around the Corramandel Peninsular, which was a beautiful start to our trip..the hills the views the coast.... it was a long drive and just getting used to the old beast and remebering to lock all the cupboard doors so everytime we took off the pots and pans and all our groceries didnt fly out all over the van...but hey its hard to change the inevitable!!!! We crusied enjoyed the great weather and then headed to teh town of Rotorua - approaching at night in a thunder storm was very Earie and then to find our site where we were meeting friends was just as challenging ...the presence of the place was incredible..everywhere you turned you felt and saw the rising steam of the Hot Springs and Geysers. WE finally arrived to a glass of wine ....and yes we opened the good bottle before we hit the Goon (ozzie termonology for wine in a box!!!) then hit the sack for our first night in the camper!!!

So we woke after a great and surprising nights sleep in the new home on wheels... and headed to the center to a Mauri Village where we enjoyed teh incredible geysers which were going off and teh traditional dancing and to see our first and last kiwi bird!!!!! After a morning of walking around the hot mud pools and the steam pools we headed on the road west to Waitomo Caves where the rapid roadtrip carries on!!!

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Photos

Driving around teh Corramandle Peninsula...
Stopping every 5 mins to take in the views the 4 hour drive ...or more like 6 was really actually quite pleasant....a good way to start the trip around new zealand..

Me standing next the to Gauges...
Standing by lake Rotorua....