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Published: February 11th 2007
We have a long drive ahead of us today 520km so we will stop at Whangarei along the way to check out a water fall which was extremely picturesque and then we had a look at another kiwi house and a museum which had a maori cloak made from Kiwi feathers. To get to Rotorua we had to go back through Auckland which wasnt a big deal as the we didnt have to leave the freeway.
We only stopped once on the way at a place called Cambridge which is a big horse breeding area, I am trying to get certain types of souvenirs (mainly weapons) but trying to get a good price so I havent purchased anything yet.
We are staying at a place called the Hot Rock Backpacker Hostel which has its own bar (Lava Bar) which has Sky TV so a quiet ale turned into much more as I watch Adelaide United lose and Australia win.
The museum didnt close till 8pm so we visted that first before getting a North African meal of chicken and cuscus. The museum wasnt bad, it used to be a health sanitarium although it looked like a nut house
Whangarei Falls
A quick stop overout of a horror movie.
The first thing that strikes you on arriving in Rotorua is the stench of sulpher in the air after a day or so it just becomes too much I dont know how the locals stand it, the town itself is pleasant and interesting.
Having serious trouble sleeping in, was up early again and on the road, drove around Lake Rotorua (Second lake) heading for Hells Gate which is an active geothermal area, it was reasonably expensive to get in but had some hotpools, steaming cliffs and mud pools that bubble and plop. From there we travelled about 12km to the buried village which wasnt to bad, I suppose I expected Pompeii but that was not to be, it was ok though.
Next was the thermal village in Rotorua, Te Puia which was not worth the entry fee as we would visit much better places the next day, the resident geyser didnt blow the whole time we were there. Directly across the road from the hostel is the Kuirau Park volcanic area which is free to enter and was easily as good as Hells Gata and as I said totally free.
We
have discovered Burger King and realise how much Hungry Jacks sucks I am packing on weight it will back to the diet the day we return. We leave for Lake Taupo first thing in the morning.
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