Right after breakfast, we check out and headed straight to Lake Rotorua. It was beautiful with a group of ducks looking for breakfast, certainly a serene sight to enjoy.
Peacefulness.
Serenity.
Quack, quack.
After a short drive we were at the lookout point of two lakes, unique for their colours.
Info board & common sense reminder!!!
Green Lake. ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden )
Why Green.
Blue Lake.
Why Blue.
Fresh & Lovely
One for nature.
After enjoying the Blue and Green lake, we arrived at the [url=http://www.buriedvillage.co.nz/ ]Buried Village[/url]. According to our host there is nothing to see because it was already buried so we decided to save and give it a past.
Here it is!!!
A long telephone booth.
A typical British post box.
When we pass by Lake Rotorua on our way to our next destination, families were out to enjoy the freshness of the lake.
It must be cold!!!
Next stop was The Redwoods Whakarewarewa Forest
Welcome committee.
Hello!!!
Nice to meet you.
Into the forest we go!!!
Yes, no turning back!!!
Hmmm …..
Tree huggers!!!
How tall huh?
This tall.
I’ll climb it to confirm!!!
After all the excitement about the Redwood trees, we stop by at Benny Bee to buy honey in comb which we couldn’t get in Wellington.
Benny Bee – cater mainly to locals.
Honey in comb.
Yummie!!!
After having our honey comb feed, we continued on our way and experienced our first cow crossing. There is like hundreds if not thousands of Friesian cows crossing the road from the pastures to the milking station to be milked. It would had been a great experience for us if we had the opportunity to see how the cows were milked but that thought was not with us at that time …. I guess it was just the excitement of seeing so many cows at a time …. WOW!!!
A moo-moo crossing.
Friesian moos….
Moo-moo train!!!
When we were getting close to Taupo we came across a gathering of Ducati Bikes by the Ducati Owners Club of New Zealand in Wairakei Resort. There were so many of them in on display in the open and it would be ashamed to give it a miss. When we stopped to get a closer look at the bikes, I was like kind of a in a different world of mine own.
Where is that guy?
Can I have this?
Dream on baby!!!
Vroom, vroom!!!
I want this!!!
Vintage beauty.
All in pristine condition.
I like this.
Latest models.
They cost a bomb!!!
The rider & owner is a lady.
After all the excitement of the Ducati bikes, we stopped by Huka Honey Hive which cater more for tourist.
Huka Honey Hive.
Where is the queen?
Here try some liqueur & wine honey.
Hehehe …I want more!!!
A naughty Mazda.
Next stop is Huka Falls
The Huka Falls.
It’s down there.
There it is.
The water is so clean!!!
Where is the Jet boat?
There it is…oops!!!
The beautiful ice blue water.
A brief description.
Further downstream is where you can take a ride in the jet boat, Hukafalls Jet.
The propulsion system.
The boarding area.
The jet boat.
They are off!!!
To the falls … yahoo!!!
Another place that we wanted to visit around this area is Huka Prawn Park where Shawn the Prawn lives. I guess we were late and the prawns had already started their exercising so it was closed.
We were too late … sigh.
So we proceed on to check into our motel, took a short break and went for dinner. This time we knew exactly where we want to eat Crooked Door Inn which was highly recommended by a very reliable source.
Here we are.
Nice and cosy.
Shall we start?
Yum-yum, my favourite.
Lamb shank.
Beef & Mushroom Hot Pot.
Grilled Scallops and Chorizo.
That was a yummy dinner in a real nice and cosy place. After a full fun filled day, it was time to head back to the motel and call it day.
March 17th
Right after breakfast we check out of the motel and hit the road back to Dannevirke using a different route from where we came from.
The motel we stayed in.
At the office checking out.
Ready to go?
Next stop is [url= http://www.taupobungy.co.nz/]Taupo Bungy[/url], a extreme sports the very brave or crazy. Nope it is not for me.
Eee…scary!!!
Not this either!!!
Can you see the person?
Jumping station.
Weeee!!! Off they go.
There they are.
After all the craziness we went back to Taupo to do some souvenir shopping.
Souvenir shop.
I got a bargain!!!
I’m done, let’s go!!!
We were soon on our way towards Rangipo Desert.
It was raining.
The Rangipo Desert.
The rain stopped.
Our next stop is the National Army Museum in Waiouru along the desert road.
War Machine.
This mine?
Story of the war machines.
A new discovery for me.
Thanks mate.
War horse.
An unpleasant story.
Iron horse.
That was the last stop for us before we arrived back in Dannevirke.
Beautiful sight.
My new found friend was waiting for us when we arrived back at the bed and breakfast place.
Charles the cat.
After a short break at the bed & breakfast, we headed to our host place for more chit chat and dinner.
Cheese!!!
Never seen such huge hydrangeas ever.
One for the album.
March 18th.
It was a slow day, our host was busy and we were left on our own. We decided to take it easy and explore this little town.
The main street …treacherous cloud!!!
My Missus favourite place, 30mins. free internet.
Red shop with red car.
Down come the rain!!!
Having a hot cup of coffee.
When we got to our host place in the late afternoon, her neighbour gave us a container full of raspberry for us to enjoy from his own shrub.
Yum!!!
This is the way to enjoy it!!!
Preparing dinner.
Yummy fried fish.
March 19th
Today is a special day, we get to spent time with all the family members of our host and it was wonderful. The temperature was exceptionally cold too.
Starting a fire.
Nice and warm.
Roast chicken … yum!!!
Happiness.
After dinner entertainment.
Sharing a joke
Very at home!!!
Relaxing….
Enjoying a wonderful moment.
Another round of entertainment.
I started this fire…..
Enjoying the warmth…. Nice!!!
Next back to Auckland.
