Our KE trip began with a visit to our guide Chris' s mum. She parked the bus on the lawn while we had tea and scones, bizarre but lovely!
we then drove down to Rotorua via a picnic in the park
Overnight accommodation was a holiday park lodge, 1 bed and 2 bunks in each lodge, with a very compact sink and cooker unit, and tiny toilet and shower. Basic but clean and adequate, and the Maori entertainment in the evening was ok if noisy! The meal for the 150 or so guests was a 'hungi' and surprisingly good
we then drove down to Rotorua via a picnic in the park
Overnight accommodation was a holiday park lodge, 1 bed and 2 bunks in each lodge, with a very compact sink and cooker unit, and tiny toilet and shower. Basic but clean and adequate, and the Maori entertainment in the evening was ok if noisy! The meal for the 150 or so guests was a 'hungi' and surprisingly good
After dinner we walked down to a geyser site, hoping to see it spurt. A rather surreal experience sitting on very hot rocks, with boiling water coming out of rocks in all directions. Patience paid off, as we walked away the geyser did spurt. A strangely disturbing sensation of the Rock being alive, sinister and restless all around. Very atmospheric with the sulphurous steam, and very warm of course.
We all crowded into the guides' lodge for a magnificent breakfast on Tuesday morning.
WE have 2 guides, Chris who is obviously very experienced, stepped in at the last moment as the original man was unwell. She has Finn to help her, who is a delightful young man filling in time! He is well travelled and knowledgeable, and by the end of the trip will also be domesticated!
Tuesday has been a delightful day of walking in redwood forest:these are imported trees but have settled into their new habitat and are very beautiful alongside native plants.
The rest of the day was a delightful mix of mud pools, steamy caverns, devil's cauldrons, weird coloured lakes, distorted rock faces and brilliantly coloured mineral deposits on a visit to a very well organised geothermal park called Wai u Tapu. Full of tourists but spectacular. We also saw some undeveloped mud pools and steamy pools, in fact the whole area looks like a giant laundry.
So ends day 2, with an enormous steak and says age BBQ feast!
The big walk crossing Tongiriro tomorrow....
Apologies for the weird layout of blog, can't seem to get it right!
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