Days 7 and 8 Rotorua and Hamilton

Day 7

We left Coromandel promptly at just after 8. Steve suggested we took the more direct x country route to Rotorua rather than the motorway. A nice drive but a bit slower through rolling countywide. All farms and small towns and nearly no traffic.

We reached Rotorua about 11.15 and after a bit of dithering decide to visit Te Puia https://tepuia.com. These are the most famous geysers and hot mud pools [wpvideo 5SRMIN5x ]in Rotorua. They were quite good but touristy and over priced in my view but nevertheless a must do. The main attraction is a geyser which goes up about 30 m every 30 mins. Fantastic when it does go off [wpvideo xeVtq8H8 ]but boring waiting for it.

We then headed off to do the cycle ride suggested by Jack and Maisie in Waiheke the Happy Ewe cycle run by Roge. https://www.happyewetours.com. We were a little early and Roge suggested parking in the Government Gardens as it was free. It was busy there organising the set up on the Sat / Sun for a 100 mile endurance race! Mad!

After grabbing a rubbery sandwich and a greasy spring roll we were ready to cycle.

They we very upright slow heavy city bikes ideal for the city but felt very strange. After a lighthearted orientation and health and safely briefing we were off with Roge. Just the three of us (amazing as the morning group was 30) so we got a very personal tour. Roge was an interesting guy and had helped set up international sporting events eg the Olympic Games for years but returned to his hometown to briefly help a sick mother and ended up by staying and setting up the business which was now 4.5 years old. His shop was only open this week after having run the business from a mobile home.

The tour was a good mix of v v easy cycling visiting the local Tamaki Maori Village. Not touristy at all. We got a better understanding of Maori history mixed with a little science, Roge has a hand held digital temperature sensor, and pointing this at the ground gives the temperature. There are underground springs trying to get out and the ground is just over 80 C in places. Weird especially the smell of hydrogen sulphide everywhere.

We then moved on to a big pool of hot water fed by springs. It was about 70 C. More knowledge of algae’s.

It was a good tour which ended up being 3.5 rather than 3 (he did ask if that was OK and could not stop explaining and showing off his hometown oddities). We had an interesting stop at a point by the lake where the last remaining acid mud bath from the Victorian age still has its wooden edges. Roge got out some litmus paper. The litmus was Red … the acid bath was PH 1! Then within 5 paces another pool was PH 11 alkaline and a few paces away another was PH 6. Extraordinary that 3 pools all within few paces could be so different.

After the tour we headed for our evening house. One of the oldest houses in Rotorua – Robertson House. Restored by an English guy John Ballard who emigrated to NZ about 15 years ago. Lovely old building. After freshening up, a bath for B and a sit for me, we headed out to the evening food market – which luckily for us is weekly on a Thursday.

After a nice lamb pitta, some chicken kebabs, a drink at the Pig and Whistle and a banana and chocolate crepe we headed home for a well deserved sleep.

Day 8

Friday. Off to Hamilton to see Kim who moved to NZ in 1994. I have not seen her since then and Bridget only once. But we could not do that without a walk in the Redwoods Forest N of Rotorua. We got there quickly as it is only 10 mins outside however it was raining again but we decided to do a route marked as 1.5 hours anyway as we did not plan to get to Kim until 12 and Hamilton is only an hour and a bit N of Rotorua. It was a nice walk through massive redwood trees and forest and it stopped raining 1/2 way round. Our drive to Hamilton was uneventful, with a quick coffee stop in a town called Cambridge, which apparently (and was) full of quaint old wooden buildings. We arrived at Kim’s house, hurray we did have the right address, 12.07. Not bad timing thanks to Google Maps and B’s navigation. B rang the bell and heard Tim (Kim’s husband) say ‘they’re here’ and the door opened. They both look exactly the same. It was lovely to see them. So easy to chat and catch up. We decided to walk from their house to Hamilton Gardens (world famous) for lunch and a walk around. The walk is about 30 mins and it was raining again but it did not seem to matter. We sat outside under an umbrella and kept on chatting over lunch. The rain stopped and we had a good stroll around the gardens and then walked back again (in the rain).After tea and some great biscuits cooked by Isobel (their daughter … who was also there) we headed off back to Aukland. The timing worked well as Tim was also taking Isobel to a party in Aukland. We arrived at the Ibis at Aukland airport at about 7 and discovered a bar/pub next door and decided to eat there. So after filling the car with petrol, so it was ready for pick up in the morning, we headed off to dinner. Nice meal with a shared bottle of red. Goats cheese salad (B) Thai beef salad (me)!After a quick repack of bags we were asleep ready for a 5.30am start. 12am. Beep beep beep beep. ‘Michael your alarm is going off!!”No it’s not!’Beep beep beep. The clock in the room had an alarm going off. A practical joke by the previous guest? Who knows but it disturbed our sleep but we were up at 5.30 but not as well rested as we might have been!