...how about I move on from Day Two (at this rate, it may be Christmas by the time I'm done sharing our NZ trip). After spending the night in the car park of the Firth Tower Museum at Matamata, we headed for Rotorua. Driving into the outskirts of Rotorua we stumbled upon Skyline, one of Rotorua's most well known tourist attractions. Fellow Norfolkers had told us about the spectacular gondola ride and thrillling Luge, so how could we drive pass without stopping! We had to drag number one son kicking and screaming into the gondola cabin (alright, I exaggerate...but there were tears). Being the mean, nasty parents we are, Ben and I wouldn't back down. Not only did Harry live to tell the tale, he was also rewarded with a spectacular view over Rotorua, the lake and the mountains beyond*. We had two rides each on the Luge which was super good fun but FREEZING (even with the sun shining)! A Luge is part toboggin, part go-cart. Controlling the brakes and steering requires a certain amount of strength, which is why Till rode with Ben. At the bottom of the Luge track, we had to ride a chair lift back to the start. We didn't realise this when we signed up, I promise. Poor Harry...we were pushing his fear of heights to the limit! But he was so brave for each of those chair lift rides...SO incredibly brave. It had been years since I'd ridden a chair lift myself and I have to confess I was feeling quite nervous too!!! Serves me right....tormenting my child like that.
We didn't spend much time in Rotorua itself, although it appeared to be a lovely city. After stopping for lunch at Kuirau Park we pushed on, keen to spend the afternoon exploring Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland, a geothermal attraction located 20 minutes south of Rotorua.
Oh my gosh, this place was facinating! The landscape feels prehistoric to say the least. At every turn in the path I half expected to see an Ankylosaurus or a Diplodocus. It feels like you are exploring another planet, albeit, a smelly one. Truth be told, the sulphur smell really didn't bother Ben, myself and Harry all that much. Only Miss Till carried on like her nose hairs were being assaulted with every teeny tiny breath. Look, Till has always had a sensitive sense of smell.... but talk about dramatic. She made such a fuss we ended up stuffing bits of tissue up her nostrils!! Of course I then spent the remainder of our visit praying she didn't snort them right up her nose, with visions of me retrieving them with a chop stick or tweezers later. Parenting is a joy, isn't it!?
I didn't want to say goodbye to the boiling mud with it's everchanging form....it's alive you know. Well at least it seemed to be. Crazy-fascinating stuff I tell you! I could have sat and watched it for hours. Have you seen the movie Labyrinth? Remember the Bog of Eternal Stench?? It was such a childhood favourite...the image of David Bowie (the Goblin King) wearing tight hosiery
is permanently etched on my brain! Anyway, this boiling mud pool was a
real life Bog of Eternal Stench...complete with "noises"....you get my drift? Sadly my children weren't as impressed as I was. So I snapped out of my daydream filled with knights, knaves, oubliettes and goblins so we could hit the road once again. Our next destination: Taupo.
Along the way, quite by chance (cause that's how this holiday rolled...no definite plans or set itinerary), we spotted a sign to Huka Falls and managed to pull into the car park 10 minutes before it was to be locked for the night! Sure it was almost dark, but at least we can say we saw the falls! They were rather impressive actually, even in the dark! You can certainly hear them before your see them.
Along the way, quite by chance (cause that's how this holiday rolled...no definite plans or set itinerary), we spotted a sign to Huka Falls and managed to pull into the car park 10 minutes before it was to be locked for the night! Sure it was almost dark, but at least we can say we saw the falls! They were rather impressive actually, even in the dark! You can certainly hear them before your see them.
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| my sweet water babies...outside air temp...about 5 degrees!!! |
That night we booked ourselves into an actual caravan park at Taupo because we needed to do some laundry. Plus we had our sights set on a nice long soak in a thermally heated pool. We went to bed that night very content; with freshly laundered clothes and relaxed muscles!!
Day Four (Napier) coming soon
...honest!
*Till looked across Lake Rotoura and said "I can see the South Island!" - ha ha
1 comment:
oh my goodness!! i have a chronic (really chronic) fear of heights and i would have sobbed! High five that boy, tell him I almost cried for him just looking at that chair lift!!!
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