Advertisement
Published: January 16th 2018
Sunrise at Whitianga 1
Mandy by the sea, alone with her thoughts, such as.........who's that pratt pointing a camera at me!A fond farewell to Whitianga today, but not before we grabbed the opportunity to capture a few sunrise snaps - although the cloud cover wasn't ideal, we still managed to get a few decent ones! But, we couldn't hang around too long because today we were really going to be in Hot Water.........literally, as it happens, because our first stop on the journey to Rotorua was 'Hot Water Beach'. About 40 minutes south of Whitianga (on the road to Tairua), we hung a left down the mysteriously named 'Hot Water Beach Road', for 5 or 6 miles; pulled up at the 'Hot Water Beach Cafe' to hire a couple of spades ($5 each) and then park up just round the corner, right next to this massive beach.
About 100 metres along the beach there was a crowd of people (or, what seems to pass for a crowd on NZ beaches!), feverishly digging holes and we went to join them. This apparent regression of fully grown adults to their childhood 'sandcastle days', is all to do with a hot water thermal spring that passes under the beach and into the sea. As you dig the holes, they fill up with warm
Sunrise at Whitianga 2
Too much clouds, but still great colours! and, if you chance upon the exact right spot, very hot water; but it is important to get there around low tide! A bit of fun for an hour and as the tide started turning, there were some great breakers, into which I hasten to add, only MYSELF of our band of intrepid travellers, dared to venture! A quick change back at the car park and we were on our way again.
We followed State Highway 25 down to the town of Waihi and after a coffee and bun stop, we picked up the SH 2 passing the 'Mural Town' of Katikati - well, I'm sure them there murals were there somewhere..........but we didn't find them! Onwards past the coastal town of Tauranga, before picking up SH 36 for the run into Rotorua. The scenery is still very English, but has become more mountainous now and there truly are some spectacular views! But spectacular they may be, one thing we have noticed is that for a country of 30 million sheep, we really have seen very few of the critters in the fields. A lot of cattle but only the odd glimpse of a 'Shaun'! Apparently, this is part
Hot Water Beach 1
Instead of digging diwn to Australia, it must be to the UK! of a Government sponsored move across to Dairy, hence the number of cattle, BUT where they've hidden the sheep is anyone's guess!
We arrived in Rotorua about 2.30 and the first thing we noticed was the pong! Refreshingly, this wasn't our two resident wind machines Bubble and Squeak (!!!), but simply the natural whiff of sulphur from the geothermal activity in the area. Rotorua is slap bang in the middle of the main geothermal and volcanic area of North Island and most of the town's visitors come here for that reason. We stayed at the Millennium Hotel, right in the centre of town, with adjacent rooms once again and after a quick chat with the concierge for some local tips, we headed out to the main drag to get our bearings and have a beer. Mandy and Sue decided that it was time to do some souvenir shopping, so after our first jug of Speights (very nice Kiwi brewery), Tim and I headed back to the hotel and left them to it!
We met the girls again at a brilliant food night market which, fortunately for us, takes place every Thursday. The food was great, from lots of
Hot Water Beach 2
So we've dug a hole......what do we do now? different stalls, with Asian, Indian, American, local cakes, popcorn and burgers AND even Cornish Pasties!! We collected our wares and squatted on wooden boxes and enjoyed a really terrific street food experience, with the centre of town absolutely buzzing. After a nighttime stroll beside the lake (Lake Rotorua), we ended up at the main road for restaurants and bars, luckily called..............EAT STREET, with some great bars doing local, craft beers.
The first part of day two in Rotorua, you might say, was spent looking for gas! No not fuel for the car, but one of the numerous thermal parks to choose from. After a lot of research and some input from the concierge, we opted for Waiotapu, about 30km south of town. This certainly isn't the most well known or the most popular (in terms of number of visitors), but it was a really excellent few hours. Get there by 9.30 am latest, to make sure you are able to see Lady Knox Geyser blow her top at 10.15 on the dot each day! How can a geyser possibly blow every 24 hours EXACTLY, you may well ask? Well the truth is, it's 'managed' by placing an eco friendly
Waiotapu 1
The Artist's Palette, especially for Mand! detergent tablet in the geyser hole, to release the surface tension on the water and soon after........thar she blows!!!! Whilst this is slightly artificial, it is simply to cater for tourists - if it was left to its own devices, it would apparently erupt every 24-72 hours, but to no set schedule.
As a matter of interest, the 'detergent trick' was discovered by prisoners tasked with clearing the area 80 odd years ago. They were apparently washing their clothes in the very hot water, only to find their 'unmentionables' blasted into the air after their soap flakes got into the geyser holes.
One very amusing incident, involved one of the visitors flying a drone over the geyser to try and take pictures from above, despite lots of warning signs prohibiting the use of drones, with a $500 fine. David, the Head Guide, saw the drone and asked for it to be taken down (twice), but nobody owned up to it! When the geyser had done it's business and the presentation finished, the drone came down and the owner went to pick it up, at which point 'security' descended upon him like a ton of bricks and, hopefully, slapped
Waiopapu 2
The Champagne Pool, especially for Sue! him with a hefty penalty!
The rest of the reserve was a mix of craters, boiling mud pools, beautifully coloured hot water pools and rivers of silica deposits left by trickling streams of water. The features known as the Artist's Palette (especially for Mandy) and the Champagne Pool (especially for Sue), were particular favourites.
After Waiotapu, it was back to Rotorua to go up the Skyline Gondola, a cable car up Mount Ngongataha, to a great viewing area over the Lake Rotorua and the town itself. After a look around the top, the sky got very black and then the thunder and lightning started. The gondola was stopped for a while for safety reasons, so we had a tea break and then jumped on pretty much the first gondola down when it restarted. Good job too, 'cos the heavens absolutely opened half way down!! By this time, it was late afternoon, so it was back to the hotel for a beer and a nap, before out to dinner.
Rotorua is a definite must on any visit to NZ and it's fair to say that you even get used to the smell, after a very short while. We
Waiotapu 3
Now that's what you might call a vivid colour! only scratched the surface of course, but it'a big tick from us!
The following day, we left for our next destination of Napier on the east coast, in the heart of the Hawke's Bay wine region. We drove down via the town of Taupo on the SH 5 and then followed the same road from Taupo down to Napier, a total journey of about 130 miles. On the way into Taupo, we stopped off at the incredible Huka Falls; incredible on two counts, one simply how fantastic they are and two, the fact that entry is FREE once again. If this was at home, I suspect it would be a major tourist attraction and it would cost the earth!
The Falls are, in fact, a series of separate falls, each of which is not especially high (the last and main drop is only about 12 metres), but it is the speed of the water that makes it so exciting. The Falls form part of the Waikato river which drains out of Lake Taupo, a few miles south. The flow is regulated as part of the area's hydro electric power system and the speed is caused by the size
Waiotapu 4
10.15 on the dot!!! of the flow and the fact that the river narrows from 100 metres to a 15 metre canyon, where the falls are situated. At it's peak (which I believe it was when we were there) over 220,000 litres of water flow over the final drop EVERY SECOND! The water is crystal clear, but the speed produces huge amounts of foaming water at the base of each drop, hence the name Huka, being Maori for 'foam'.
After a coffee and bun stop in Taupo and a quick look at the lake (which is the largest lake in NZ and covering about 240 square miles is roughly the size of Singapore!!), we moved on to Napier and what a fabulous drive this was through absolutely beautiful scenery; a bit like the Yorkshire Dales on speed!! Stunning views around every corner and one of the most stunning was another waterfall called Waipunga. It's marked on the map, but when you get close, there is no signage whatsoever, just a marker showing a scenic lookout point. We pulled off the road to a scruffy parking area, with one other vehicle and almost drove off, expecting it to be a non-event. But how wrong
Waiotapu 5
Beautiful colours! we were! The falls were probably a couple hundred feet high and although totally different to Huka, they were a great sight in their own right. Well worth the stop.
We arrived in Napier around 2pm, checked into the Quest Hotel and hit the town for a couple of hours, before we had to get back for our night time adventure! More about the town itself later, but what about that night time trip?! We all wanted to do a wine tour during this holiday, but didn't really want to waste a big chunk of the day doing so. Before we came away, we found the perfect trip with Bay Tours, called their 'Black Rose Gastronomic Evening Wine Experience' and what an experience it was! We were picked up by our own personal driver and guide Murray, just before 6 pm and he took us to the superb restaurants, at three separate vineyards namely The Vidal Estate Winery Restaurant, the Terroir restaurant at the Craggy Range vineyard and the Mission Restaurant at Mission Estate vineyard. We tasted 4 whites, 5 reds, a rose and 2 dessert wines in total and...........with a decent glug of each! This was accompanied by
Waiotapu 7
A pathetic attempt at a selfie! a progressive dinner, with starter at the first, main at the second and dessert at the third. The food was fabulous, including fillet steak at the Terroir which was probably the best piece of steak we have ever tasted! Murray even found time to take us up to the highest point in the area called Te Mata Peak and even though it was approaching dusk, it gave us some brilliant views over the whole Hawkes Bay area. Murray dropped us back at our hotel around 11, after a fantastic night and with a couple of cheeky reds that we managed to purchase - the tour was quite pricey, but well worth it!
The following day in Napier started with a visit to the town museum and a look back at the traumatic history of the area. Napier is a town whose reputation is built, quite literally, upon its Art Deco heritage. On the 3rd February 1931, Napier was almost completely destroyed by a massive earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale and killing 256 people. The town was then rebuilt in the fashionable style of the time, namely Art Deco and in addition to attracting tourists by virtue of
Skyline Gondola
The Boys and the view from the top of the Gondola. being in the centre of the Hawkes Bay wine area, its beautiful Art Deco buildings are a big draw. As a result, the buildings have generally been faithfully restored and looked after, with a number of the residents kitted out in period dress and driving vintage cars around town. We walked round most of the town on a self-guided tour of the Art Deco history, in cloudless skies and very warm sunshine. A fab day, which Tim enjoyed even more when he thrashed me on the mini-golf course, including 3 holes in one!!
The bay itself is fabulous with a clear blue sea and although the town beach is enormous, it is mainly pebbled with grey sand. A trip up to Bluff Lookout, the high point in the town itself, is also well worth it after which, we popped down to a suburb called Ahuriri Village, for dinner by the sea. Napier is a very quirky place, but we loved it!
Tomorrow, we have a longish drive to Wellington, so that's it for now! However, before I go..........it's quiz time everybody!! Two very special readers scored 100% on the Captain Cook round and thank you so much for
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?
About to leave Rotorua and I thought we were supposed to be travelling light! having a go. Today's round is, of course, on geothermal and volcanic activity, a breeze I'm sure for those Geologists amongst you:
* Which country in the world gets all of its power supply from renewable sources, including geothermal?
* How much of New Zealand's power supply comes from geothermal? Is it 13%, 23% or 33%?
* Which famous rock musician made a concept album in the 1970s called 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' and followed it up in the 1990s with another one called 'Return to the Centre of the Earth'?
TTFN
Advertisement
Tot: 0.063s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 11; qc: 34; dbt: 0.0319s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
