This bright morning we took the ferry over to Waitangi Treaty Ground, the place where a key treaty between the Crown and the Maori chiefs was signed, and which is considered the foundation of modern New Zealand (though it would not have been considered so a few decades ago). It was fascinating to see the […]
At the sundial
We have now been in Russell for two days. The first was a quiet sort of day. In the morning, after a late start we met Lady Bright for coffee with a local friend of hers. They were discussing a rather horrific incident, a fellow kayaker, a highly experienced one, whose boat overturned last week […]
Kiwi Christmas
In the morning we got an uber, loaded it with our bags and went to the Gentleman Friend’s cousin’s house for Christmas. The driver was, unfortunately, rather inept and managed to dent the corner of my suitcase by trying to bang the dickie lid shut on it. After watching a couple of vigorous attempts in […]
Market morning in Sulphurtown
In the morning we went to the Rotorua farmer’s market, which turned out a disappointment, perhaps because it is so close to Christmas. Only about 6 stalls, of which three sold prepared food. The greengrocer’s stall was nearly out – they sold their last courgette to the person in front of us – and the […]
Mud bath
(An inaccurate title to this post, as will be seen). Early in the morning we had our breakfast (a surprisingly hideous one, as we’d requested omelettes from our AirBnb and these emerged from the microwave which they had been cooked. I tried telling myself they were steamed, like a chawanmushi, but it didn’t help in […]
Geogardening
After my first deep night’s sleep in a while I woke for breakfast and then the Gentleman Friend and I made our way into town to find out about an afternoon trip to Waimangu, the valley left after the eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886. It was about a half hour drive away from town, […]
Sulphurtown
We are in Rotorua. It’s a strange place. A nothing town again, though less so than Taupo, as it seems more of a tourist town, with lots of souvenir and travel shops including a set of horrific ones catering to visits to Hobbiton. Our bed and breakfast is quite splendid. It’s a small old house, […]
Family
This morning the Gentleman Friend’s aunt, who lives near Taupo, collected us and took us to Hukka Falls. We went via a walk along the fast-flowing blue-green river hung over with ferns and other vegetation, at a near sprint. This is the first time I’ve met this aunt and it was curious to see someone […]
A long walk and back
I got up at four, after having slept at midnight trying to finish work so I’d have today off. At five we were collected by a small van filled with a few equally drowsy people and driven about 90 minutes to be dropped off at the start of the Tongariro crossing day hike. Leaving in […]
Crater lake
A leisurely morning and we packed up and left. This was difficult with my suppurating eczematic fingers, but had to be done and so was. In any case we took a taxi to the bus station, there to wait for hte bus to open. I stayed with the bags while the Gentleman Friend sprinted off […]