New Zealand is hot...
As planned we
departed Tauranga to explore more of the North Island by the
beginning of March. All major maintenance jobs were successfully
terminated and now came the time to relax and to discover before
resuming our coastal cruising of the east coast and it's islands.
Thermally active Rotorua and it's steaming surroundings was our first
stop. With it's hydrogen sulfide rotten egg smell following us
around, we were amazed while walking through the Maori village of
Ohinemutu that the locals are not worried to live on top of this
thermal area. Pipes are sticking out of their house foundations
belching steam away from the buildings, steaming holes, sounds of
boiling water are everywhere. Next to this village on the side of the
same crystal clear lake lies Rotorua, a typical tourist NZ town with
typical tourist shops and many restaurants and spas with healing
mineral pools. Further south we spend a good part of the next day in
Wai-O-Tapu thermal area which is considered to be New
Zealand’s most colourful and diverse geothermal sightseeing
attraction. Mother nature gave us a stunning show
of fuming lakes, boiling lakes, sulphur deposits, bubbling mud pools.
The intensity of the colours in some of the pools has to be seen! Our
next adventure took us on a cave expedition to finally see the famous
glow worms we heard so much about. “Glowing Adventure” in Waitomo
region is an three hour eco tour on a private land with untouched
limestone cave system. Once the tour started we understood why they
provided us with all the clothing, gumboots, helmets and head lamps
(as well as shower afterwards) as we waded through streams and mud,
crawled under and climbed over boulders. Surrounded by untouched
stalactites we experienced a stunning spectacle where millions of
bioluminescent insect larvae beamed bright blue lights around us.
What a great first experience of caving! Next. Is Wellington
really the world's wind capital? We were going to find out. Situated
at the bottom of North Island this was our next stop. This town often
experiences gale to storm force winds, but we were fortunate to be
there in a calm and settled weather, which made walking around most
enjoyable. If we had to live in NZ, this would be the place. The city
is a vibrant culture-driven hot spot tucked around a picturesque
harbour with lots of cafes, restaurants, museums, walking streets
only and full of shops. What a difference from the rest of NZ towns,
where one has a hard time to find an open cafe after 5 o'clock! This
week went by too fast, but was a great change from our normal
mariner's outings. This was a great vacation in a normal
vacation-life! Back to Tauranga. We strongly recommend this port to
any cruiser. The range of services around the city is excellent, the
marine industries vibrant with lots of knowledgeable service
contractors and at very reasonable price. As the Kiwis often say “No
worry mate.”