So the first day we are there, Clare and Kerry both had to work. They generously gave us control of their house and washing facilities so what do I do? I break their washing machine! Sorry about that. It was Kerry's birthday when we arrived too. Good thing we picked up some "Royal" coffee from the Kingdom of Tonga. Happy birthday Kerry....glad you like coffee. The picture of Kerry didn't turn out but he's a nice New Zealand mate.
We had a nice dinner with Chis and Jenn Breen. They have a great house in Auckland! Thanks for the nice meal and visit! The kids had a nice visit also! Left to right: Sarah, Matthew, Ronan, Shayla....I hope I spelled the names correctly! Sorry if not. What a nice family!
Then, on the experienced advice of Kerry who is from the North Island - off to start our camping adventures in KiwiLand!
Here is our first campground. We try to stay at DOC sites (Department of Conservation) as they are nice, sometimes nature reserves, and cheap! Of course you get what you pay for. Once in a while you pay a few more dollars and get a cold shower (if the water is working!) We were there slightly before the summer season started so had some really quiet stays at most camps! We also could hear Kiwis during the night...they are nocturnal birds and extremely threatened due to introduced predators such as possums from Australia. (People here don't like possums!)
We made it to Pakiri Beach on the advice of the book "101 Things to do Before you Die" Sarah and I went horseback riding down the beach. It was stunning and we forgot the camera so no beach pics. We saw a dolphin while on the ride too!
Here is us at Kai-Iwi Lakes. There was a school group there also but we didn't hear a thing because they are far away!
We enjoyed many short hikes and lots of beautiful beaches with sea life and surfers! The drive north was sometimes on narrow curves and I thought it was funny most of the time to see a speed limit sign - 100kph - we were doing good if we could do 60! Oh yeah, nice to be in a metric country - I just wish I paid more attention to prices of produce 'per kg' at home so it would be easier and faster to know what is a good deal.
The Redwood Forest just outside Rotarua was really interesting. These are California Redwoods that were planted about a hundred years ago just for enjoyment. They grow really fast here....I am a tree hugger just to show the size!
Here is some bubbling mud at Thermal Wonderland. Pretty cool. I'm sure a bath in this would be good for the complexion! The Rotarua Museum was also the old 'bath house' where people from all over the world flocked to for treatments for all sorts of ailments. There were even natural mineral spas cascading down the mountainside but were destroyed in the 1886 eruption.
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