after the weekend in taranaki, lynne and i hired a car, so we could drive ourselves around for the next few days..well, more like lynne would drive us around..given that i have barely driven in the past few years, everyone seemed to think it a better idea that she do the driving..
after a late start (my fault) we made our way out of auckland on a rainy morning..we originally thought we were going to start our trip in rotorua, because of the not so good weather..howeva, the weather started to clear, so we changed our minds and decided to go to the coromandel peninsula..it's an area of the north island of new zealand where lots of people go on holiday..it's beautiful, and close to auckland..after driving for a while, and following the directions of the gps, i realized we were going way too far south, even for taking a scenic route to the peninsula..and whaddya know, we were...it turned out that since it was my first time using a gps system, i had no idea out it worked..surprise, eh?..when lynne asked me if it was set to the peninsula, that's what was showing on the screen at that moment, so i thought that yes, it was set to take us to the peninsula..turns out i was wrong..apparently you had to hit enter a few more times..oh well..anywho, we made sure to set it to a particular beach on the peninsula, made a u-turn, and got going in the right direction..
we made it to hahei beach mid afternoon, and played around for a while...another absolutely beautiful new zealand beach..(i'm pretty sure every beach in new zealand is gorgeous, and there are lots of them)..there used to be a rope swing under a tree, but that seems to have disappeared in the past year and a half..we found the path that leads to cathedral cove, and started walking..with the absolutely wonderful weather we had stunning views (which seems to be another plus of new zealand..the country is full of stunning views)..the walk doesn't take nearly as long as the signs say, and is fairly easy..cathedral cove is a naturally formed area, beautiful, of course...the action of the water over the millenia has formed nifty caves and rocks and what not..one of the caves was used to film the opening scene from one of the narnia movies..(or so i'm told, i haven't seen the movie myself)..as we walked back to the car the weather started to change, the sun went behind clouds, and the wind picked up..not so wonderful anymore..
we drove around the tiny little town of hahei and lucked into finding an amazing little hotel..up the hill, we had a great view all around..the the price was fantastic..the owner said it used to be a restaurant, it was too bad we didn't get to take advantage of the fantastic kitchen..we left our stuff and drove to hot water beach..according to the tide tables i had found, low tide was supposed to be that evening around 2030..hot water beach is a spot where hot water springs come up through the earth and visitors can dig themselves jacuzzis in the sand..ideally you can dig a hole, the hot water will come up and fill the hole and you can hang out and enjoy yourself..lynne and i didnt manage to find one of the hot spots, but we weren't the only ones missing out..we saw a number of other folks looking/digging but only one group was successful, and they had taken over from others..we were disappointed, but hey, life goes on..
the next morning we drove to rotorua..it's a smelly town, sometimes better known as rottenrua..the earth's crust is relatively thin under rotorua, only about a kilometer thick..(i think)..because of that, there are hot springs everywhere, and the whole town is geothermally heated..every hotel in town has jacuzzis in every room, woo hoo!! after checking out a few, we settled on one..(one of the things i love about new zealand is that you can almost always negotiate a price)..rotorua is one of the most popular tourist spots in new zealand, because it has a little bit of everything..activities, natural beauty, (it's on a lake,) good food, etc..we made our way to a hill just out of town, and took the cable car up, read the rules, donned helmets, and got ready for the luge..it's a cement track (three actually, beginning, intermediate and advanced) and you can ride a plastic sled on wheels (lets face it, it's not a real luge, but it's a lot of fun anywho)..the first ride has to be on the beginning track, and it's the most scenic..that's the one where you can pull off in a few places to take pictures, as well as get used to how the little sleds work..the medium track is a bit speedier, and fun..but the advanced track is the best..lynne and i both caught air on the advanced track, and loved every minute of it..we both wanted to stay up there longer and keep riding, but it was closing time..darnit..
next up that evening was a quick stop at a takeaway shop for dinner, then on to kerosene creek..amy had also loaned us a book about the hot springs of new zealand, it has directions to EVERYWHERE..totally awesome..kerosene creek is a naturally heated creek..until a year ago, it wasn't even in lonely planet..locals wanted to keep it that way, and i understand why..it's fantastic..there are lots of little areas in the creek to hang out and enjoy the heated water..we were in there for two hours, both my rings changed colour!! while floating around we ended up talking to another couple, he's kiwi and she's american..she and lynne are from the same area in the states, they had similar accents..the heated water was amazing, even though we were both pretty smelly when we finally dashed out..the air wasn't warm, so we both changed really fast and got back to the hotel..
the next morning we packed up and after a dispute on the price of the motel room, went to visit a place called te puia..it's home to the new zealand maori arts and crafts institute as well as the pohutu geyser..it's almost constantly blowing up, the steam clouds are pretty impressive..the weather wasn't so great, it poured down at times, but we still had fun..there are a steaming mud spots, and beautiful mineral pools..the area is pretty big, so we took a free tour, and went to a maori show..that afternoon we went zorbing..soooooooo much fun..imagine this: a giant plastic hampster ball, with another ball inside..the employees fill the inside ball with a little bit of warm water, and you superman yourself into the inner ball, wearing nothing but a swim suit and socks..lynne and i chose to ride together..and what a ride..the hill the ball rolls down doesn't look very big, but the ride is a lot longer than either of us had imagined..laughing and giggling and screaming the whole way down..FUN!!
we drove to taupo, another cute little town on a lake..windy as all get out..we took amy's suggestion and booked a room in a nicer place..it was HUGE!!! we each had a huge bed (lynne actually had two beds to choose from) and there was a jacuzzi just outside..a wonderful way to relax for an evening..
the following morning we drove to waitomo, to see the caves..there are several different caves in the area, it's possible to take tours of many of them..lynne decided to go blackwater rafting, and she loved it..absolutely loved it..after the caves we drove back up to auckland, and met up with my mom for dinner..
as you all know, my immediate family is very much into traveling..before i planned this visit in new zealand, mom had already planned her holiday to new zealand and australia..perfect timing, i got to see my mom on the other side of the world for the first time in over a year:)..dinner was lovely, we all had a good time..lynne and i heard stories about me that i've never heard before..hee hee..an awesome evening..
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