Rotorua to Turangi: 2 Days, 22C, cloud and sunny patches

Three walks, A Hot Spot and Dinner Out:

So I haven't been writing for a while...too busy getting into travel mode and experiencing this most interesting country. To catch up, yesterday we decided to go out to the Two Lake Tramp, not too far, about 14 kms, but far enough to find some very cool vegetation and in fact two different coloured lakes! They are blue and green and resulting from depth and bottom material.

The trails was beautiful walking and we pretty much had it to ourselves.

The trees above us were alive with the sounds of insects and the lake offered us views of black swans. Very idealic walking environment.

That evening we were fortunate to obtain tickets to a Maori feast complete with dancing, traditional stories and of course the Haka, a fierce Maori greeting which tells other tribes (and  rugby teams) that they are going to pretty much beat the crap out of them...then eat them! They don't do this any more...eat people. As most countries in the world know, they still beat the crap out of them on the rugby pitch! The food was slow cooked for us underground and it was a pretty impressive feeding!

We walked the grounds in the dark and this is the tribe's sacred spring where traditionally only Chiefs and holy men could drink and bath. Quite striking...you can see the water pulsing upwards to the surface. The tribe is hosting these dinners to help to fund their journey back from the outside. It seems to be working quite well. We were very well treated.

This morning we departed Rotorua early and travelled south to find the geo-thermals, something I'd wanted to see for many years as it provides 5% of the power for NZ. Lots of talk of this power source at home, but to this point, mostly talk. A renewable resource. The first two photos are of the geyser that was discovered by convicts 100 years ago who were logging the area as they served their sentences. Apparently they put their dirty clothes down the funnel with some strong soap, and where then quite surprised when the whole lot shot straight upwards! Today they activate the geyser daily in pretty much the same way, sans clothes.

Lady Knox is not as impressive as Old Faithful, but it was pretty good. The thermals were better and here are a few samples...

The bird life continues to impress. This is a Blue Back Swallow sitting over a massive sulfer pool. 

I think I breathed in more than my share of fumes today!

We drove further south and walked down to some beautiful falls where we found a big rock on this fast moving River to enjoy our lunch. Beautiful area.

Then it was off to find our very humble abode for the night and a grocery to find dinner. By the way, regular petrol...$1.76/L!! This is one expensive country. The language is different as well...I'll never think of a shopping cart in quite the same way again...

We have a very early start at 5:30am in preparation to walk the 19.4km Tongariro Alpine Crossing. It's not the distance, it's the elevation and the elements that make this a good 6-8 hour tramp. It will be -4C up there tonight and a cool hike tomorrow. We will use our poles for the first time and carry our new hiking packs. Should be a good test to see how we are doing. The crossing is through an active volcanic zone, last erupted two years ago, and we will walk past three peaks including the Mt. Doom used in the Lord of the Rings series. Will try to blog about it on the Camino blog site tomorrow...unless I'm already asleep, which is where I'm headed now!