Jim & Barbara Burton Travel: Rotorua

Rotorua,

We left early from Hamilton and drove to Tirau, where we stopped and had breakfast in Poppy’s. After learning our lesson in Matamata we ordered the mini breakfast consisting of one egg, a mini sausage, 1 rasher of back bacon, 1 tomato, two slices of toast and one potato cake. In Matamata it was three times that size. Tirau is a small village on a steep hill. It is essentially just one street of arty shops and restaurants. Our favourite shop was the clock shop. It not only had some of the most beautiful clocks we had ever seen but also the most innovative and the quirkiest.

After leaving Tirau we drove on to our next timeshare Amora Lake Resort, Okawa Bay, Lake Rotoiti. It was not far and we arrived early, hence our condo was not ready. However, we completed our check in and they gave us the keys, which was great. We went into Rotorua and wandered around some of the stores. At Harvey Norman we spoke to some very nice fellows in the “Apple” department who sorted out our problem accessing the Blog from the iPad, which was very nice of them. After wandering some more, to kill time we went to Countdown and did our grocery shopping. We went back to our condo, which was perfect. It was two bedrooms, two bathrooms, full kitchen, dining and living room. We also met our next-door neighbours, a very nice couple from Northern Ireland, Bobby and Joyce. We spent a couple of evenings with them. They were very entertaining and we enjoyed their company immensely.

Our first night at Amora Lake Resort we finally got to enjoy our Green Lipped Mussels, see photo, delicious.

On Saturday we just relaxed around the resort and met some of the other timeshare folks that were there for the week. They were mostly owners from not too far away who gave us some good pointers for our stay. It was a little concerning when another Bob from north of Tauranga told us we should not miss Whakarewarewa or Huka Falls. The Wh in Maori is pronounced as F and the U is OO. We were wondering just where we had come.

We went to Te Puia at Whakarewarewa, which is where the Geysers’ are pronounced Guy not Gee. We were told that a Geyser produces steam and a Geyser is a bloke. We thoroughly enjoyed the centre and had a guided tour from a Maori whose name was, wait for it!!!!!! PAUL…. He was very informative and rushed us to see the geysers as soon as they started blowing. They actually seemed to do this constantly while we were there. They were very active. Te Puia is not just a tourist attraction but also a Maori learning centre. They have a carving institute and a weaving institute. Only men are allowed to do the carving and must be of Maori blood but women or men can do the weaving. That does not seem like equality???? Anyway, the carving shop was very vibrant and the Gees not the Guys were fully engrossed in these amazing carvings, see photos. The weaving shop was somewhat different. The first time we went in, there was just one woman who was separating palm leaves. The second time there were four women. One seemed to be doing nothing, one was sewing, the third still working on the palm leaves and the fourth was doing a crossword. I commented that it did not look like weaving but she told us she was taking a break. Huh, she wasn’t even there the first time round!!!!

Apart from enjoying the entire complex, seeing the lake, the hot pools, the mud pools, the Maori buildings and carvings we also went to the Kiwi House. The Kiwi birds are in an indoor, glass enclosure in a simulated nocturnal environment. It is quite dark and they scurry around doing their nightly business. However, due to the sensitivity of their environment and affect that photography has on the birds we were not allowed to take photos.

Another day we travelled to Gisborne on the east coast, through the Waioeka Gorge and very steep, narrow, windy roads. It took much longer than we thought due to repairs to the road, where sections had been washed out during spring rains. The views were phenomenal but it was too dangerous to stop for photo sessions. Gisborne itself is the first place Captain Cook landed in NZ in 1769. It is said that Endeavour crewmember, Nicholas Young, first sighted land in New Zealand and alerted Cook. Gisborne lies in Poverty Bay and the white cliffs, see photo, are reminiscent of the famed White Cliffs of Dover, England. Cook’s monument stands on the actual landing site where the land has been reclaimed. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa also lived in Gisborne.

Wednesday we were taken by boat down the lake to some hot springs only accessible by water. It was very relaxing but extremely smelly. Our swimwear had to be washed immediately on our return due to the putrid, intense, rotten egg smell. That evening we enjoyed a very nice meal hosted by the resort for those folks staying in the timeshare villas.

Thursday we went to Rotorua and spent time visiting the town, lake and the Tokarangi Forest, commonly known as the Redwood Forest, see photos. Now you know where the Robaxacet marionettes came from!!! This research forest began around 1900 with 170 species being brought in from all over the world. Some thrived but others succumbed to the adverse conditions. Those that survived included 15 acres of majestic Californian Redwoods planted in 1901. The Redwoods were not commercially viable, the wood being too soft here and growth too slow, however the forest is now purely recreational for all to enjoy. Radiata Pines were found to be the most suitable commercial timber trees as the wood is harder and maturity reached in fifteen years. Harvesting and replanting of this most important, commercial species can be seen throughout the North Island.