Author / travelwithnicole

by travelwithnicole

All things big and beautiful

Whitsunday Islands, Australia


Have you ever lain on the beach all alone looking at the clouds float above you, watching the monotony of the waves crashing on shore and yet feeling completely at ease because you are filled with an emotion which I would only call contentment?

Well my trip along the east coast was filled with many of these moments – no, I was not always on the beach by myself but I was happy and relaxed. Content to take in every moment as it presented itself too me whether it was to lie by the pool reading my book, riding sky high above the canopy of the rainforest watching for blue butterflies or holding little Erwin – my two year old Koala Bear friend.

Erwin was just as relaxed as me, quite happy to be handed along to be held and have his picture taken. If you ever wonder what it is like to hold a Koala then I can only tell you that their fur is soft, nails sharp, quite heavy to hold and thankfully they do not smell – well not Erwin anyway.

After this special and unique experience I jumped on the Oz Experience bus to move south along the coast to see the other wildlife of Australia along with the beautiful coastline of the East Coast. All this was intermingled with bizarre stops such as the Big Mango, the Big Snake, the Big directors chair, the Big Gumboot along with learning a bit of trivia about the Golden Gumboot award. Surely the coast has enough to offer without these weird Big things and awards but if you have time it is worth listening to some of these stories that I guess make Australians unique. Now whether you want to or not you have to hear about this Golden Gumboot award. It all started when two small towns (Tully and Binda) decided to compete every year for the town with the most rainfall. Not that they had much say over the matter but it has become a tradition and a very much cherished award, so much so that because Binda holds the record of the most rainfall, Tully decided to create their very own gumboot – you guessed it the Big Gumboot stands proudly in the middle of town. Now that is an icon on its own and certainly overshadows the small golden gumboot hidden in the Binda post office window!

Although this is all fascinating, my interests did not lie in the Big things or the tasting of a Green butt ant but in the days to follow – cruising the Whitsundays. The Whitsundays Islands are made out of 74 islands in the Coral Sea and the three days I spent sailing on the Classic Tall ship, Ron of Argyll, meant I only touched the surface. With 8 people on board we had some great days chilling on deck, occasionally working by helping pull up and take down sails, snorkeling along the Langford reef which fringes around the Great Barrier Reef and visiting the famous Whitehaven Beach. I am sure you have all seen the postcards of this famous beach and it is just like the photos – 7kms of pristine white silica sand and clear blue waters.

I will admit that Whitehaven beach for me was the highlight of the trip but as I saw so many wonderful things I do have trouble not mentioning some other experiences such as swimming with green back turtles, spotting dolphins right alongside the boat and being fortunate enough to see three humpback whales as they made their way north from Antarctica to breed in sheltered waters of the Whitsundays. What an amazing ‘wow’ filled days and I had not even left Queensland yet!

Accommodation:
Magnums Backpackers – 366 Shute Harbour Rd, Airlie Beach, Australia

 

by travelwithnicole

A maze of colour

Broome, Australia


The west coast of Australia is filled with colour both on land and in the sea. Our many hours of driving was made easier by the gorgeously colourful wild flowers that made fields look like carpets of purple, pink and yellow…

When I wasn’t driving the colour continued in the coral reefs of the Ningaloo, the blue and green ocean that contrasted against the white sand during the day was replaced by orange sunsets at dusk or the moon casting a yellow stairway mirage on the blackened water below. We were lucky to witness this last phenomenon – named the Staircase to the Moon. Advertised like crazy in Broome we did wonder if the true thing would be as great as the many posters displayed around town but we waited with hundreds of others on the beach for the moon to rise. It was worth the wait but it took many photos and wading into the water to get only 2 good shots. Oh, I forgot to mention this phenomenon only happens when it is full moon so our timing was just perfect.

This all sounds so idyllic I know and it was from Broome down south towards Perth we saw so many beautiful things including an abundance of wild life. My highlights:

  1. Watching Humpback whales breaching in Lighthouse Bay, Exmouth.
  2. Snorkelling on the Ningaloo Reef amoung the coral, tropical fish and the occasional Ray.
  3. Driving in Cape National Park at a slow speed allowed us to spot the uncountable number of grey kangaroos, red kangaroos, two Echidnas crossing the road and some Emus.
  4. Swimming with Manta Rays in Coral Bay. These graceful gentle giants of the sea are just beautiful to watch, I spent a good 30 mins following this 4 meter wide ray – which was total goosebump material.
  5. Watching green turtles and spotting a tiger shark on the out Ningaloo Reef just before we dived in for a snorkel – scary stuff!
  6. Feeding the Dolphins at Monkey Mia and the Pelicans at Kalbarri NP.

You could never be bored down the coast with all the things to see and do, but at the same time it is peaceful with its sparse population. The people are incredible friendly, views amazing and the seafood fantastic.

Liz and I celebrated our final part of our trip together at Freemantle, Perth over a glass of wine in the harbour – after all we had just driven all the way from Darwin together – approx. 5800km!!!!


by travelwithnicole

Exploring the top end

Kakadu National Park, Australia

 


It is the middle of winter and the temperature reached almost 30 degrees. I was at the top end of the Northern Territory in Darwin looking longingly at the ocean wishing I could cool down, but the mere thought of accidentally bumping into a box jellyfish kept my toes well above the shoreline. It was not the only dangerous thing to look out for on this trip as every waterhole, billabong, river and small pool held the threat of ‘Salties’ (Saltwater crocodiles) or according to the locals if you were lucky the non-human attacking ‘Freshies’ (Freshwater crocodiles). Either way I was determined not to go anywhere near the water let alone swim! Having said that I still did venture into the plunge pool at Wangi Falls in Litchfield NP. Liz and I must have got the record for the quickest cool down swim ever.

From Darwin my friend, Liz, and I and our new found friend, Wicked Maureen, headed in the direction of Litchfield and Kakadu National Park. Wicked Maureen provided us with transport, camping equipment and a comfy bed (well after 3 weeks maybe not so comfy) and a bright bodywork design that everyone felt the need to take photos of. Her only faults were her gluttony for car oil and the occasional wobbly she threw when going over 90km/h. But we loved her anyway as it was a great way of getting around and stopping wherever we wanted.

Litchfield NP was very peaceful with lots of waterfalls and pools. It was also home to the fascinating termite mounds that towered above you. Two types stood just across the road from each other – the common cathedral mound and then the magnetic mound that resembled a cemetery across the plain. It was in Litchfield that we camped for the first time with Wicked Maureen. The campsite was run on a honesty system so we popped our money into the box and went and found a spot as close to the ablutions as possible so we did not have to venture too far in the dark. We had a lovely meal of Chilli ConCarne made from kangaroo mince. At 98% fat free it became our favourite at our camp dinners as we cooked hamburgers, more con-carne and had some fantastic Kangaroo steak on the BBQ.

Leaving Litchfield we stopped off at the Famous Jumping Crocs. It was closed when we got there in the afternoon so we had a nose around and met one of the employees who gave us permission to camp the night. We were offered the use of his kitchen and the best yet – a hot shower. The evening was very entertaining as we listened to our host tell us stories of other travellers and his job at Jumping Crocs. Having spent the night on the premises we were first in line and got the best seats on the boat so we could watch the show.

The guides were very knowledgeable as they told us about the nature of the ‘Salties’ and how they are one of the oldest surviving animals from prehistoric times. It was fascinating watching them jump their own body length out of the water to grab the piece of pork dangling in front of them. I am however unsure how I feel about partaking in the feeding of wild and dangerous animals. I have strong views of the practice of feeding sharks for the tourist cage dives in South Africa and would never condone it, yet here I was doing something very similar in Australia! A long drive to Kakadu NP let me battle with my conscience .

Kakadu NP was filled with beautiful landscape from billabongs and wetlands that were the home to colourful water lilly’s, birds and naturally crocodiles. We explored as much as possible on a 2WD and walked up to viewpoints, through forests and to see some great rock art that included the lightening man. Not sick of National Parks yet it was on to Nitmiluk NP that is home to Edith Falls and Katherine Gorge. We had a good relaxing time at Edith Falls before going on a 8km walk around Katherine Gorge. Leaving the National Parks behind we started on our long and desolate drive to the Kimberley’s.

It was from here that you notice how isolated you feel on the long roads and hundreds of kilometers that separate each town (which was normally a petrol station and roadhouse) and attractions. We were pleased to have ‘Wicked Maureen’ with a well stocked food cupboard and water supply. Kununurra was the biggest town we stopped at and the first town to have mobile network coverage in days. It was the start of the Kimberley’s with terrain that changed every so often from flat to rugged and then flat again. It did feel like there were vast amounts of nothingness as we drove but looking back we still managed to see and do quite a lot like visit :

  • the big croc and dreamlike statues in Wyndham,
  • the hidden valley which housed the mini bungle bungles and the head-lice dreaming statue (not sure why one would be dreaming of head lice though)
  • Boab Prison Tree near Derby and
  • Halls Creek.

Halls Creek was entertaining not just for the China Wall, the old ghost town and the fascinating story of an aboriginal, Jack Jugorie who operated on his friend while following instructions sent by Morse code by a Dr Tucker who was based in Perth, but for the road that got us there. Suitable for 2WD the tourist information insisted, we made our way along the unsealed road only to have our teeth rattling from the start – it was like driving on corrugated iron and driving fast or slow did not seem to help the effects. We forgave Wicked Maureen after that for her now and again wobblies that were mild in comparison to the rattling experienced on this road.

Our last night in outback of the Kimberley region we stayed at one of the free camps on the cliffs and watched the sun slowly set and cast a beautiful red tinge over the landscape. It would be our last night in such a setting as we headed further west to the ocean – gone was the dust!

 

by travelwithnicole

The Red Blitz

The Red Blitz
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia


You don’t realise how big Australia is until you get here – the world map does it no justice and it is only when you start comparing that you notice it is practically the size of the USA. It also made me realise that I had set one big challenge -getting from Adelaide to Darwin in just four days!

Excitingly for me my friend, Liz, was joining me for 4 weeks while I was in Australia and after spending a day and a half in Adelaide exploring the art scene and working out just how we were going to see the much talked about ‘Big Rock’ in just 24 hours we boarded our bus for a 20 hour journey to Alice Springs. As the sun starting coming up we soon realised we were in the back and beyond and the start of red dust country. There was not too much to see on the road other than small one building towns, a few shrubs, warning notices to not fall down old mining shafts, road trains and of course lots and lots of red dust.

Arriving in Alice Springs we dashed with our backpacks to the car rental place where we picked up the only car left to hire – a Ute. Bagging our backpacks in black bags we flung them in the back and hoped they would not take off when we whizzed at maximum speed down the road only stopping to see the camels on the side of the road and to fill up the car with some expensive petrol. We had quite a journey in front of us and it was made shorter by the fact that you could not drive too late at night or in the early morning because of the Roos that like to bounce across the roads.

I was unsure just how spectacular Uluru was going to be and did wonder if this rush of a journey was going to be worth it – In my mind it was just going to a big rock sticking out of the ground. But as it come into view I was genuinely surprised at how big and over powering it seemed to be and I was equally awed by the dream-time stories and the importance of the rock to the aboriginal people. Every hole and shape is depicted in their stories with my favourite being about the snakes – Kuniya and Liru – which I have shared with you below:

A long time ago a young woma python (Kuniya) boy was sliding along when he was surprised and ambushed by a group of Liru (poisonos snake). The Liru were not very friendly and started throwing spears at the Kuniya and murdered him. They threw the spears so hard that the spear heads made the big holes that you can still see in Uluru today. The Boy’s aunt a Kuniya woma python woman was so angry she chased the Lirus. She slid along the rock and caught up with them and killed the one Liru with a blow to the head. You can still see where the Kuniya woman Python slid along the rock as a dark wavy line in Uluru.

We only a few hours to get around the Rock and look for the signs of the Kuniya and Liru before we had to head back to Alice Springs – so straight forward I thought until one last picture resulted in us getting stuck in the sand! It took a lot of persuading for us to get a ranger to come and pull us out of our sticky situation as it was not their policy. With less time to get back to Alice Springs we made the mad dash hoping all the way that the Kangaroos would stay off the road and not add anymore dramas to our day. It turned out to be a mad but fun journey and I do think we were both pleased to get on that bus to Darwin even though it would be another 20 hours before we got there.

 

by travelwithnicole

Paradise on Surf Coast

Adelaide, Australia


They were coming to Australia for a better life, but in the middle of the night fate struck and the ship they were travelling in hit the rocks – it was Australia’s Titanic tale with only 2 surviours to tell the story. This is just one of many tragedies you will hear along the Surf coast of Victoria. Though not all stories are sad as the famous waves have brought happier times for the surfing greats of the world and of course led to the birth and ongoing success of surf brands: Rip Curl, Quicksilver and Billabong.

If you are not into surfing the Great Ocean Road, which starts in Torquay and ends at Warrambool, brings you rugged coastlines, dramatic limestone formations and Australia’s unique wildlife: The Koala, Kangaroo and Emu. These are just a few things I have seen in my first 2 weeks of Australia and what a great start. I arrived in Sydney with a mad dash for the bus to take me to Canberra to visit a friend for a few days and of course to see what this Capital city was all about. It is beautifully structured and my walks around the lake brought me into my first contact with some of the colourful, tropical birds that are all over Australia – I have yet to learn their official names so you will have to be content with my photo labelling of a red bird and a green bird.

It was then a whistle stop tour where my friends, Justine and Dylan, took me out for a wintry picnic in the Dandenongs. While eating great steak sandwiches we had a fantastic view in front of us of the forest along with the abundance of birds who were not shy to pose for the odd photo.

Geelong saw me put up my feet in the Sheraton (thanks to Lynne’s mother in law to be) while taking in the many colourful bollards on the waterfront – my favourite surprisingly were the lifesavers. It was from Geelong that I hopped on a tour to Adelaide to take in the sights of the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians where the landscape and nature is just truely amazing. It was a pity however that the Grampians are still recovering from a major fire in 2006 with only one sighting of Koala spotted but the Kangaroos obviously less concerned as they are back in abundance.

One of my most exciting moments on this part of my trip was seeing a baby Koala girl a metre high in the tree. She posed so well for her photo and just gazed down adoringly – oh okay, it could just be the drug like effect from eating all those toxic eucalyptus leaves!


 

by travelwithnicole

Completing the Loop

Landscapes, nature and weather all contribute to making scenery dramatic, calming or just plain gorgeous

Queenstown, New Zealand


Landscapes, nature and weather all contribute to making scenery dramatic, calming or just plain gorgeous. I cant quite believe after 9 months of travelling these things still inspire me, still make me wake up every morning and rush to the window to see it all again…although secretly it is sometimes just to check if the sun is shining 🙂

My loop back around towards Christchurch took me to Queenstown, Milford Sound, Dunedin and Oamaru. Queenstown can only be described as cool, buzzy and certainly funky. It is filled with many tour operators offering you thrills that will get the blood pumping, test your mind and frankly sometimes scare you half to death. The adrenaline of completing one of these activities and or having been on the slopes for the day progresses into the bars in the evening making for a happy vibe. I will be honest the crowd was a tad young for me filled with many young 18 year old Brits – but no point in hating it I just joined in with the silly dancing fun.

Milford Sound looks just fantastic on the brochures – beautiful blue skies and calm oceans and I was quite looking forward to seeing this stunning place. The day I decided to take the long journey to Milford it decided to rain from the moment I got up at 6am until you guessed it the journey back to Queenstown. Our coach driver pointed out the sights in front of us but I couldn’t quite believe that Lake Te Anua is 65km in length when I could barely see into a meter of the lake. The drive did have it’s advantages though – I could catch up on some sleep after barely getting 3 hours the night before and rest my legs after all those hours of silly dancing.

Even through the rain and clouds, Milford Sound was spectacular with all its waterfalls, seals sleeping on the rocks and lions rock which was way more believable with all the clouds surrounding it. It was also my chance to get up close to the alpine bird – the Kea. Far bigger than I thought and very cheeky as it seems to love picking the rubber out of windscreen wipers.

After spending a day in Arrowstown I made my way to Dunedin, where I met up with a friend I had made at the bus stop in Blenheim – as you do. Dunedin is a town where you feel you have been transported back to Scotland – you can certainly see the Scottish influence in the buildings and then of course you get the Scottish Shops just to make it more realistic or is it weird. After exploring the historical buildings in the town I ventured onto the Otago Peninsular to see some wildlife and watch the yellow eyed penguins waddle up to the homes at dusk all the time calling for their mate.

My last stop in New Zealand took me back to Christchurch so I could explore the town, go and soak in the wonderfully hot, hot pools at Hanmar Springs and catch up with my friend Rach.

My last words on New Zealand is that it is indeed a beautiful place and I can well see why it has become a favourite backdrop in the movie world.

Accommodation: Sir Cedrics Southern Laughter Backpackers – 4 Isle Street, Queenstown, New Zealand

by travelwithnicole

Log Fires and DVDs

Fox Glacier, New Zealand


I am sure I have surprised you all by my title being ‘Log fires and DVDs’ when surely I am visiting the most scenic and dramatic part of the south island – the West Coast, aka a photographers paradise with hundreds of picture perfect scenes?

Well I surprised myself that a large portion of my trip did involve curling up in front of a log fire to warm up my cold toes while watching a DVD – a real treat after venturing into the cold and rainy air to get a look at some of the most amazing natural phenomenons! So no I have not become a couch potato during this trip but mealy balancing must-needed relaxation with defrosting. Defrosting from some crazy walks in blustery storms with sometimes visibility just a few hundred meters in front or from unexpected rock or tree root climbing just to get further up a snowy path.

My adventure to the wild west coast started off in civilised fashion with a train ride on the Tranz Alpine express from Christchurch to Greymouth. I had 4 hours in a warm carriage treating myself to a Devonshire (yip in NZ) cream tea for breakfast while starring out the window wondering if the air was as fresh as it looked. I throughly enjoyed my journey on what they call the world’s greatest rail journeys but was just as pleased that I was only going in one direction as it would have made for a long day. As we pulled into the station, Greymouth lived up to it’s name as it loomed in front of us dark, dreary and strangely grey!

The weather never really let up and I did wonder as I headed to Punakaiki if I would actually get to see the Pancake Rocks. Never fear I was told the stormier the weather the more spectacular the blow-holes – forgetting to mention the wetter you will get too. But it was worth the wind and the rain to see these limestone rocks that have been formed by the wind and sea over the past 30million years.

From Greymouth I headed south on the bus to Fox Glacier – the weather was horrible and the bus driver kindly dropped me off at the hostel’s front steps. I was wondering what on earth I was going to do for the next few days but as it happened my decision to stay 3 nights turned out to be the right one as the morning appeared with crystal blue skies. It was a perfect day to make the 12km return walk to Lake Matherson. Fueling my energy over lunch it was back on the walking track this time another 10km to view the Fox Glacier terminal. It was great to look at but I will still say that Argentina would win ‘The best glaciers competition’ if ever they had one.

Clearly my body did not have enough exercise as the next day I went with a fellow traveller to tackle the Mount Fox Walk. It was really tough with some parts having to physically pull yourself over rocks and tree roots to go further upwards. After about 2 and half hours I finally arrived towards the top to see some spectacular views of the alps and coastline. Although this was not the end of the route I decided enough was enough and headed downwards while my friend continued upwards. I can only believe him when he said the view was even more amazing but did involve walking through chest high snow.

Haast was my final destination on the West coast. An extremely scenic place but I was a bit disappointed that once in the township you were limited for choice on what to do unless you had a car and I had so many walks planned to do over the four days! In the end the owners of the lodge lent me a bicycle so I could get around. I also ventured on the river on a jet boat to see the sights – it was very relaxing way to see the river with just a few 360 degree turns thrown in for fun.

My best highlight of Haast was making friends with the locals and being invited to join them for a bonfire on the beach, to eat venison steak sandwiches and to join them in the cover of darkness to go Possum hunting. But don’t worry out of the million of Possums they say have invaded NZ we did not see one. Could it be the fact that 7 giggling ladies singing to the latest tunes warned them of our approach?

Accommodation:
Ivory Towers Backpackers Lodge – 33-35 Sullivan Road, South Island, New Zealand
Neptunes International Backpackers  – 43 Gresson Street, Greymouth, New Zealand (note: closed down)

Transport: Naked Bus

by travelwithnicole

Green hues

“It was a grey and misty departure from Wellington”

Nelson, New Zealand


It was a grey and misty departure from Wellington and from the sounds of the weather report my destination – the south island – was to be more of less of the same…

My ferry crossing was pretty much uneventful but the scenery I was approaching… the Marlborough sounds was gorgeously green – lush vegetation and emerald coloured waters. The colour of the water was different from what I expected and the views remained one of the most spectacular throughout my touring through the region of Marlborough and Kaikoura.

My trip over the last few weeks has been full of exploration and walking along the coastal paths in the region. Come rain of sunshine I have made the most of getting out there to see the great scenery New Zealand has to offer and I am sure my photos will speak 1000 words on what I have seen and discovered.

Quick Highlights:

Nelson – a great feel town with lots of art and craft shops – plus a great market to visit on a saturday morning.

Abel Tasman – even though this is the smallest national park in New Zealand it has some amazing walks. I managed to spend about 5 hours walking along the coastal paths getting caught in some rain showers and climbing as high as I could to try and take some good pictures. I will admit I was freezing by the time I had finished and enjoyed every mouthful of the free hot chocolate pudding at the hostel that evening.

Blenheim – getting a break from the rain I ventured off to explore the wine region and you guessed it New Zealand does have some yummy wines

Kaikoura – I was so looking forward to getting here to see the resident sperm whales but disappointedly the seas where too rough and I lost my chance. I did however go on a 3 and a half hour walk around the coast and visited the local seals instead – not the same but at least something.

by travelwithnicole

Dangling on ropes

“My first nail biting adventure was a trip to an underground region known as the Lost World…”

Waitomo Caves, New Zealand


Being underground is one of the major tourist attractions in the Waitomo region – the main reason being the abundance of glow worms and black water rafting. For those of you unfamiliar with this sport it is basically exploring caves by the light of your own head lamp by either abseiling, walking or floating your way around.

Not being the hugest adrenalin junkie it took me a few days to decide if I was going to take part in this ‘must do’ activity, but once booked it was no going back. My first nail biting adventure was a trip to an underground region known as the Lost World – being a misty day I could well imagine it being undetected from the world as well as being very eerie. Looking down to the depths below it did not seem to far to descend but once I was dangling on those abseil ropes it was a different story and no stopping once you were off from the starting platform – and I will add here it was a 100m descent. I surprised myself by feeling less scared and whizzed my way down to the bottom.

Feet safely on the ground it was time to roam, climb and squeeze through tunnels to explore all the caves formations – I was impressed especially at the size of some of the stalactites and stalacmites which have taken 1000 of years to form. In the darkest part of the cave we turned off our lights and stared at in amazement the millions of glowworms on the roof of the cave watching slowly as a the greeny lights from the glow worms slowly started to lighten the cave.

Now that I was 100m down into the cave it did not surprise me that it would take a few steep climbs and a vertically placed 30m steel ladder to climb to the surface. Only 30m I thought but with a tight grip all the way by muscles were shaking a little when I finally made it.

Enough Adrenaline? Well almost – I took myself back the next day to visit St Benedict’s cavern which has a lot more formations and fossils to explore. This time is took 2 shorter abseils through narrow tunnels to get into the cave and then so not to ruin some of the formations a flying fox some 30 odd meters to the other side. Not my favourite part which was even less so when I was asked to pose for a photo with my legs dangling a good 10 meters in the air – all I could see was the nice safe landing in front of me and hence my picture is safely stored away!

All in all it was a fun few days but I do think my favourite part is keeping both my feet flat on the ground.

by travelwithnicole

Full Steam Ahead

Rotorua, New Zealand

 


Hot steamy baths, bubbling mud and erupting geysers were the focus of my next explorations in New Zealand.

I had the privilege of being able to borrow a friends car which not only saved me some money but also gave me the freedom to roam where I chose and at leisure. The drive along the Thermal explorer highway from Auckland was pretty much standard and it was only once I reached the Huka Falls near Taupo that I felt like things were starting to get interesting. I watched the bright blue water of the falls for a while before heading off to see my first official thermal activity at the craters of the moon. I looked into a smokey landscape – puffs of white cloud steaming from the ground with the odd eggy smell wafting past.

Leaving Taupo (pronounced Toe-Paw) I headed towards my friend Ang’s parents farm, Omahamui for 2 very cosy nights. My treat at the farm was being able to kayak on a glass looking river and see plenty of geothermal activity along the way. Stopping to explore and feel the warm water was wonderful, it did however mean that the trip back to the farm around 6pm was very cold and the 4km felt a lot longer.

Wai-tapu was the next destination and is known as the most colorful of all the thermal wonderlands. It lived up to expectations as I passed green, copper, yellow pools puffing with steam. It certainly was a good adventure plus the added fact that I got to see Lady Knox geyser erupt at the set time of 10:15am – with the help of a little soap, very sneaky.

Rotorua was not such an amazing town but it certainly was at the centre on what was on offer. The weather was not wonderful either but I got to see some Kiwi birds at the Kiwi Encounter and hear all about the breeding program they have in place. Such cute little birds it would be sad to see them become extinct in the world and this organisation are doing a wonderful job by having hatched over 1000 eggs this summer.

It was back to the beaches in the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel after all this thermal activity. I fell in love with the Mercury Bay area and decided to stay 2 nights in Hahei so I could walk along to the famous cathedral cove and later watch with interest the people building their own little hot pools on hot water beach. So not totally moving away from thermal wonders I found it fitting to end this part of my journey in Miranda on the seabird coast with a long soak in one of the hot pools.

Accommodation:
Cactus Jacks Backpackers – 1210 Haupapa Street, Rotorua, New Zealand
Tatahi Lodge Motel – Grange Road, Whitianga, New Zealand