Two Big Bumps in the Road

These next photos are all Scott's as I spent the rest of our time in Rotorua in our room. I'd say "in bed" but due to the cough I had difficulty lying down. He did our booked tour of the Whakarewarewa Living Māori Village. This area is known for its geothermal activity and geysers. It was first settled by the Maori in the 14th Century.

We ran into our first problem when we arrived at the Auckand Airport to pick up our rental car. It was supposed to be a one way down to Wellington. They couldn't find our reservation and on top of that they didn't have a car available. Scott talked to all the companies and they could only provide a local rental. One woman helped us out by explaining the bus alternative. We took one into Auckland and another one for the 4 hours down to Rotorua. The more miserable part of this solution was the next leg from Rotorua to Wellington which came three days later. The bus was supposed to take 7 hours but it actually took 8.5 and we didn't get into Wellington until 9:30 at night. 

This is a living Māori village where people live, using natural geothermal resources to cook, bathe and heat their homes as they have for centuries. 

That would have been bad enough but the second problem made it all much harder. Our first night in Rotorua I started a bad cold. It went straight to my chest. Let's admit from now on people keep as far away from us as they are able. That next morning was our tour of Hobbiton, one hour away. We had rented a local car to use around Rotorua and wild horses couldn't have kept me away from that much looked forward to event. It was wonderful and will be a separate blog post! But after we returned to our room I didn't leave it for 48 hours. Scott did the tour of the Maori village the next day, walked around Rotorua, ate meals out and toured the Redwood Tree Park. He hasn't caught it thank goodness. And then I had that long bus ride. I think if the other passengers were able, they would have taken another bus. And it was packed with seats as close together as the worst domestic airline. Scott had to keep his legs out in the corridor. 

So this is a short post to bring you into the picture. Good news, I felt well enough in Wellington to enjoy that beautiful city although a little less ambitious than it would have been. Two more entries will be appearing soon - one on Hobbiton and another on Wellington. Right now we're in Nelson on the South Island and I'm definitely better. I'll try now to catch up!

Hot pools are all over the village

Cooking sweet corn in the communal cooking
pool.

Typical home with carved wooden beams.

The Redwood Memorial Forest in Rotorua. These redwoods on 15 acres were planted in the early 20th Century to assess the viability of foreign timber in the country. The project originated as a response to the clear cutting of the New Zealand's native forest by the end of the 19th Century. They've done pretty well as you can see.