Tauranga, New Zealand - Feb 11

Tauranga, New Zealand - Feb 11

John, the owner of Kiwi Dundee Adventures responded and said he would be there just in case we got off early. We didn’t. He was there to greet us, and I’m sure worried we’d be an angry mob. Instead, we all cheered when we saw him. He said we could definitely do Te Puia, but Hobbiton was sold out and not time to do it anyway now. He said he didn’t think he could get a refund for us, and we said if you do great, if not we’re all good. Our tickets for Hobbiton were for first thing in the morning and would have gotten us in before the ship tours.

I was so fortunate to have such a wonderful "go with the flow" group of friends today on this tour. Thank you, Tom & Cathy, Bob & Phyllis and Heather & Matt. We had such a fun time in the van eating the chocolates & snacks that John provided and joking about the day. 

He was just the best guide ever. We had time to kill until our lunch and reservation at Te Puia so he took us on a couple of short nature walks to a couple of waterfalls and to Blue Lake where he showed us some petroglyphs that were unearthed when the volcano last erupted. 

We stopped to see Kiwi vines with fruit

John, owner & guide of Kiwi Dundee

Tutea Falls

Okere River

Tutea Cave

John had 3 types of snacks for the van before next short hike

John explaining the petroglyphs and told us not many locals even know they are there

This set of Maori rock paintings, featuring Maori canoes, was buried by ash in the 1886 eruption of Mt Tarawera has been protected by a grille and shelter near the wharf at the western side of Lake Tarawera. These rock paintings were submerged by Lake Tarawera as a result of the eruption of the mountain in 1886. When the Lake receded in 1904 the paintings were partially uncovered but the bulk of them had been covered by volcanic ash and silt deposited by the lake over the years. Of unknown age they were executed in kokowai (red ochre) on the glassy rhyolite face, and in common with rock carvings in this area, the Waka (canoe) motif predominates. One theory suggests that the painting depicts the Great Migration, when Maori crossed the Pacific in large sea canoes to the New Zealand islands approximately 900 years ago. They were excavated in 1962 by the National Historic Places Trust. Steps allow visitors to climb down into the excavated area to view the paintings.

the petroglyphs were underneath this 

Lake Tarawera

restaurant at the park

Lake Tarawera

our van for the day

In former times during the Tangihanga (funeral) for a chief, his waka (canoe) would be placed on its end, standing upright and semi-buried in the ground. This would signify the homage and gratitude rendered to the great man, the warrior, the great chief.

We went to lunch at the café at Hobbiton and then started the tour with the Maori performance. 

steak & leek pie

mince pie

yummy brownie

group at lunch

After that we then went to see the geysers and bubbling mud pools. The guide was waiting for the geyser to be at the perfect time, so we went to the Kiwi Conservation area first.

The Maori guide that led our tour there

yes he made us learn how to pronounce it

not ready yet

cameras showing the kiwi inside

Kiwi display (taxidermy) - no photos were allowed of the real birds in their habitat

Kiwi mate for life

Ngo mokai-a-Koko mud pool

Pohutu geyser

cool spring runs through the park

Natural Steam Vent cooler

for evening visits to the park they make a dinner in an "oven" of sorts with the natural heat

We started to visit the area where they show the carving, weaving and other demos, but we had to cut that short so we would have at least 10 minutes in the gift shop. 

We hit the road but one slow car was holding up a long line of cars. John was nervous knowing we had to be back on time, and it was a no-passing zone, but he got an opening and passed 3 cars to get around him. Of course, then many of the cars behind us followed as well. Then as we got passed, there was a passing zone. Figures.

Knowing we were probably going to be a bit late; Greg called the port agent, and the line was busy and busy and busy. He texted them. Not related to that he got a call from California (home office) to see where we were. He said we could see the ship and were about 10 minutes out. They said, "you’re a group of 10?" He said, "no we’re only 8". So, 2 others were late as well. 

we were all behind Greg going into the port gate

magnet

trinket

We were only about 5 minutes late, but it’s nerve-wracking. The Coral was still there, and they had to leave before us.

Everyone said they were fine with what we did today, but for me I was disappointed not to see Hobbiton. We have seen geysers before and we have seen the Maori village and ceremonies and performances before. I’m not that into the Hobbit, but the scenery and the hobbit houses would have been stunning. That said we had a wonderful day and made the most of our short time in Tauranga.

We went to the buffet for dinner and ate with Roy & Rondi. There was no show tonight since they had booked a culture show, that was canceled when we left so early. So, they showed a couple of old movies instead. We just came back to the cabin to get caught up on things.

Then, I do a stupid fluke thing. I took the memory from Greg’s camera and laid it down next to my computer. I grabbed a sheet of chocolate and laid it down. I picked it up to take a bite and holy crap the memory was on the bottom of the chocolate. I dried it off, but it doesn’t read. Greg tried to get it to work, but no luck. Maybe after it dries completely it will work, but maybe I damaged the metal parts on it. (lots of bite marks on it as it was stuck in my mouth) Nope the memory is ruined.... So, photos today will be slim. I didn’t take many since Greg takes the majority. Especially of the geyser and the culture show. He was standing at the back to get shots without heads in them. Ah well. Heather air-dropped her photos of the day so I have included a few of them. She also has some great video that I will add later. Thank you, Heather & Matt!

Shortly after boarding the captain announced that we are skipping the next 3 ports in New Zealand (all would have been new for us) and will now have 4 days at sea with a stop at Melbourne, Australia before getting back on schedule in Sydney. We are trying to outrun Cyclone Gabrielle and may have some rough seas.

I spent some of tonight canceling 2 tours. One will require a refund and the other was cash on the day. The other port we were just doing a coastal walk. Wow, we got the refund almost immediately. We are still waiting weeks now for 2 canceled tours with ToursByLocals.

So, now 4 days at sea……

For larger photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/TYrMXWqWeGVdtucK8

Blogger isn't letting me add the videos from Heather, but they are in the link above.