Taupo and Rotorua

We departed Wellington for the drive North to Taupo having enjoyed a more positive vibe from the Waterfront area and the museum. Phil missed the museum due to a mysterious urge to throw up during a laundry trip to the Backpacking Centre. An hour prone in bed revived him enough for the long (in NZ terms) drive to Taupo.

Taupo is on Lake Taupo which is the biggest fresh water lake in the southern hemisphere. Blithely imagining that hotel rooms were for the taking we ended up scraping rooms at the Hilton due to a cancellation. Taupo was fun in a very Grand Bendish kinda way -- bars, restos, amusements etc. We picniced on our balcony to prep us for the 4 hour kayak adventure to the MAORI CARVINGS. In doubles kayaks replete with waterproof skirts, lifejackets etc we set out for the carvings. Anne and me, nick and Andy. 90 minutes later, drenched in sweat (i.e. me), we arrived at the carvings. Anne was apologizing for being a bad paddler. The carvings are on a vertical cliff and around 40ft high, just above the water line. Enter the guide: "the carvings were completed in 1976 by two local men working from a scaffold". This punctured the moment somewhat given the expectation of them being from millenia past, but what the heck!! On the way back I put Andy in the rear of a kayak with Anne to theoretically save me for an all-out cardiac infarc. Bad theory. Anne and Andy proved to be a proficient team in their kayak. Only a massive effort allowed me to preserve an iota of masculine pride on the return trip.

On to Rotorua, the hub of volcanic activity in NZ. Very impressive volcano shapes emerged on the horizon as we crossed an Arizona-like landscape en route to bubbling mud pools. Anticipation was high. Then we hit the motel strip which made Niagara Falls seem quaint. Early evening fell when we hit our hotel -- we arrived behind 10 bus loads. The sulphorous aroma from the various emissions was hard to ignore. We slept fitfully before appearing for the breakfast buffet at 8am -- after the buses had departed. Diane Arbus would have had a field day. BUT then we drove around and found a delightful area of Rotorua for an early lunch from whence we repaired to the world famous "Lady Knox Geyser". $16 later and following a wait while the 1000 people parked and found their seats the guy who rushed from parking the cars appeared to announce that the geyser needed him to drop a bar of soap in it for it to erupt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The bar of soap did its job and we cynically made our way to the mud pools etc. They were reportedly impressive since I was otherwise employed driving back to Taupo to retrieve an article left behind by a family member who shall remain nameless.

Responding appropriately, Rorotua also had a charming area where we licked our wounds at a terrific Thai resto and an ice cream parlour.

Somewhat fatigued travellers then drove onward to the Coromandel Peninsula, endpoint for the day being Whitianga. Stunning, beautiful etc but not prior hotel booking. We trolled, rejected a futon/slease option, and then paid an arm and a leg for a nice place -- next days meals all picnic or there. For some reason (no prior reservations) we opted for an Indian resto which garnered 2 stars out of five. A brief 9pm stroll confirmed that "things get late early" in NZ resort towns. We repaired to bed in our fancy digs ready for the THE DAY NICK AND ANDY LEAVE TO RETURN TO CANADA.