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Hi
Our next stop was Rotorua which is a town with loads of geo-thermal activity and so it smells of sulphur or rotten eggs, and it really does!!
On the way to Rotarua we stopped at Hukka falls, one of the most spectacular falls in the North Island. After this we took a walk around 'Craters of the Moon' which is a Geo-thermal reserve and was amazing to see. As well as being hot from the weather it was baking hot to walk around becuase of the heat coming from the thermals.
It was also cool to see the bubbling mud pools and in this area it really really smelt so we only spent a little while there, just enough to get some photos!
We'd heard about Zorbing from several people while we were travelling and thought we'd try it ourselves - after all we are extreme sport junkies now!! Zorbing is basically a big round ball that you get inside and roll down hills in. We did a Hydro Zorb which means its part filled with water. It was great fun and we didn't stop laughing the whole way down. We know what Hamsters feel like now!! See the pics to get a better idea of what its all about.
The following day we visited a Kiwi Park. As New Zealands native bird which is becoming very rare, we thought we'd better take a look. The place we went to is trying to breed and release back into the wild so we got to see some little chicks, which were very cute! As we weren't allowed to take pictures in case we scared them, we took a picture of a stuffed one instead - see pics!!
That evening we indulged in some Maori Culture and tried the local cuisine - Hangi. The evening was held at a Maori Park - Te Pui. We spent the first hour looking around the park and looking at the Geysers which was great - we caught one in action which only happens once an hour for just a few minutes! After this we were entertained with a Maori Show and then tried hangi - the traditional way of cooking, which is all cooked underground and is heated by the thermals.
The next days we continued our journey north towards The Coromandels.
Hope everyone is well and looking forward to Spring - didn't we time that well!!
Take Care
Claire & Andy xxx
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