Rotorua: Day 4

There are a million things to do around here. This is the volcanic hot spot of NZ and also a major center of Maori culture. We decided to start with something familiar, a hike in the woods. There is actually a huge (13,993 acres) specimen forest--Whakarewarewa (don't ask ME how to pronounce it)-- planted slightly over a century ago just outside the city.  Over 170 species were brought to the site in order to determine which could provide viable lumbering. It is multi-use, with trails for walkers, mountain bikers, and horses. We took the route that overlooked some thermal features and went through some very dense stands of trees. The ferns are everywhere and you can see why they are a common symbolic expression of NZ. Some of the tree ferns are probably 20-30 feet tall and it's odd to see these more tropical plants interspersed with stands of California redwoods! Our supposedly 2 hour hike turned into over 3 hrs since we made a few unintentional detours. Back to town for a few more groceries and I almost ran into a car when I failed to look right when entering a traffic circle. Whew! But I am turning on the windshield wipers less and less when I am trying to signal turns so that's promising. Quiet evening at the condo watching a movie. Not much on TV here except rugby and some interesting commercials. This unit has not one single lamp suitable for reading--an oversight I will point out the management ;-)

Hamilton: Day 3

Bright and early we got up and packed...it seems that somehow our clothing expanded and it was harder to get everything in the two little suitcases?! Had breakfast in our room, checked out, stored the bags and headed up the hill to the car hire office. OK, here's my secret admission, even though I have driven for extended periods (3 months 30 years ago, and two weeks about 10 years ago) I was still terrified about driving on the other side of the road. Fortunately, it's an automatic--not a luxury I had in the past--and the brake and gas are relatively in the same place, but the signal indicator is on the right and I'll tell you that I must have turned on the windshield wipers about 2 dozen times that first day when I was trying to signal a turn. Fortunately we made it out of Auckland without incident and hit the highway south towards Rotorua. NZ is hilly and green even at the end of summer. They have been blessed with a prolonged dry period unusual for this time of year; we've had only a sprinkle. Hamilton, the largest inland town in NZ according to Frommer's, was on our way and a description of their gardens tempted me. We could find no directions in our guide book so drove through Hamilton itself--very uninspiring--and then saw signage as we exited to Hamilton Gardens right on the major highway. Had a little lunch in the cafe and then wandered for a couple of hours through a really amazing collection of themed gardens.  Hit the road again about 2 pm and finally arrived in Rotorua. The directions to WorldMark directed around the town, but we drove through instead, encountering lots of traffic and road construction, but also a visitors' centre. Got directions to the resort and the Pak 'n Save where we bought some groceries--wow is food expensive here, rather like Hawaii in that regard. I'm sure we'll get another shocker when we fill the tank since petrol is over $8 NZ per gallon.  Checked in, unpacked and then went to the cafe on site for a light dinner as we were both pretty beat.  Pics below include one of me at Hal's insistence---one of the few you will see since I take most of the pictures ;-)