Hi everyone,
Having left Auckland Monday we drove towards Rotorua visiting Hamilton Gardens and climbing Mt Maunganui. The gardens were lovely especially the rose gardens charting the development of hybrid teas by the French in the 19th century. They also had gardens from around the world - the persian carpet (Indian garden) was stunning.
The Mt is an old volcano on the coast and a little jaunt up it seemed appropriate. The views from the top were amazing - 360 degs over surrounding countryside and the estuary. We walked, many ran it - mad!
On to Rotorua, through the pouring rain and a cabin in a park. The town is a thermal wonderland with steam coming up all over the place and an overriding smell of sulphur. Had a fantastic morning at Whakarewerewe - a Maori village built on volcanic pools etc. Even lunch was cooked geothermally. Steam and bubbling mud pools all around. We even did the tourist Maori performance thing which was actually quite good.
We also visited a couple of lakes in the hills which were very pretty and good walking. Back to the park and a soak in hot mineral pool - great.
On to Taupo Weds which has a massive lake which invited a leisurely stroll. Next stop Tongariro National Park and another cabin - very small but adequate.
The next day we arose at 5.30am (Liz please note) to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. This is billed as the best 1 day walk in NZ - at 19km (we added a 3km loop to climb Mt Tongariro). It took 8hrs but was an amazing experience walking through the volcanos. Note that Mt Tongariro is 1968m compared with Yes Tor 1968ft! Bottle of wine earned today.
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