Day 5 - Rotorua NZ

Thursday January 3rd 2013
Weather .... Overcast with showers predicted

Today is a free day with lots of optional tours available. We have decided to have a relaxing morning, catching up with laundry & hopefully visiting the Polynesian Thermal Spa baths.

After a reasonable nights sleep (still having trouble with the right shoulder so very difficult to get comfortable) we had a nice relaxing breakfast whilst our washing was in the machine, then transferred it to the dryer and made plans for the day. Our clothes were all clean and packed so we headed out around 9am.

We wandered around the shops, found a coffee shop with free Internet, so uploaded yesterday's blog and checked emails over coffee. Then we found a health food/natural therapy store so wandered in as I had been told that a NZ green lip mussel supplement was great for reducing arthritis symptoms. When I asked the natural therapy lady she said they would help joints on a long term basis, however they would not help the acute pain. She did question recent changes in food intake and when I disclosed the large amounts of shell fish I had eaten on the cruise and to a lesser extent over the last few days, she thought that may be the problem :( Here I was thinking all the sea food was good for me! Anyway she suggested an Ultimate Omega supplement so in desperation for some relief I will try it. She also suggested sticking to a vegetarian diet for a few days so I will give that a go as well.

Next we walked to the Polynesian Spa, hot thermal baths. We hired towels, swim suits etc and spent 3 hours moving around the different pools. There were around 10, 8 of which were therapeutic & each had a different temperature ranging from 32 to 42 degrees C. It felt wonderful just soaking in that beautiful hot mineral water (we didn't even mind the sulphur smell). Eventually we started to look like prunes, or I looked like a whale sized prune, so we showered, changed and had a drink at their cafe. Then we headed back to our hotel around 2pm. I would love to say that all my aches had vanished as I jogged back, but that would be a lie. In the water I could move painlessly, however once on land the pain returned. Maybe I will feel the benefit tomorrow .... Fingers crossed.

After a wee rest we changed and went downstairs to wait for our Rotorua Duck Tour. What a fun time we had in the 1942 vintage military duck. It took about 2 hours & held 30 passengers. After the tour around town we went to the Green & Blue lakes. It is fantastic to go from driving on land to motoring on the water in seconds. I had seen the lakes before, but only on a coach, so this was a great way to experience them from land & water. We returned around 5.30pm with our little duck whistles the guide gave us. It was funny to watch people walking down the street react when we blew our (quack) whistles.


Will add some photos from today and try and upload this when we head out for dinner shortly. If not will be from Wellington. There were 2 Ducks in operation, so the photos were of the other one, which was the same as ours.

We walked just a short distance to Eat Street, an areas of about 25 restaurants of every different cuisine you can imagine. We eventually decided on Indian as it had won the North Island restaurant of the year 2012. We both had vegetarian would you believe? Very good but too much so had to leave a fair amount. Then walked back to hotel around 9pm but unable to find any free Internet .... Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

More Bay of Island Photos

Just a few more pics of our Bay of Islands cruise plus Auckland Harbour as they didn't all upload in last entry.

More tomorrow.

Day 4 - Auckland to Rotorua

Wednesday January 2nd 2013

Weather - Fine & Warm

This was a very busy day so I am writing yesterday's post on Thurs morning.
We were up bright & early, showered, luggage out & at breakfast by 6.45am. Down to the lobby & checked out by 7.45, so I attempted to upload more photos using the free Internet .... No luck as you would gather.

All loaded (full tour) and off just after 8am. We have already made some observations about our fellow passengers ..... most good, but some negatives. However that is life and one must deal with life's little challenges. Our new tour guide, Phil, seemed really nice & is well organised. He has just returned to AAT Kings after spending time doing similar work in Europe & Australia. He was born in NZ & has a vast knowledge of the country, so keeps us from falling asleep after lunch!

We did a quick tour of Auckland before heading off. First up was a coffee stop, then on to Waitimo where we did a walking tour of the glow worm caves, followed by a short boat ride through the cave. Very interesting & I managed all the steps & claiming onto the little boat, just! Must confess I was ready to get back on the coach. Back on the coach for 20 minutes, then a lunch stop in a nice little town (can't find the name), before heading off to Rotorua. After approx 2 hrs we arrived in Rotorua, did a quick orientation tour then straight to our hotel (Novatel) in a pretty central area. We had just one hour to unpack, shower etc before our bus came to collect us for the Maori concert & hungi.

Another hotel room, another town .... They are all starting to look alike except the room numbers change. Can be an issue of you leave the little card with the number written on it, in your room because the actual room card/key has no number. Now I know why I love cruising ..... Same room all trip!

All ready and out waiting for bus at 5.45pm. We have a great Maori lady driver who teaches us some basic Maori words and selects our "chief". He was pretty good, but not as great as Tom! After about 20 mins we arrived at the village and went through the rituals to enter. Then followed demonstrations of various traditional crafts, games & of course The Haka. We were then guided to a hall where they performed an excellent concert. After the concert we were taken to the dining area for a traditional Maori Hungi. All the hot food was cooked in the traditional manner (we were shown the pits and how the food is covered with wet heshan and soil. The food was delicious, especially the lamb & vegetables. We had a couple of Speights Ciders to wash it down!

Back on the local bus and a jovial ride back. Our driver was a good singer so we had a sing along. At one roundabout she stayed on it for 4 full revolutions and caused some laughter. Back at our hotel it was 10pm and time for us oldies to head for bed. A very long & busy, but fun day.

Zzzzzzzzzzz

Day 3 - Bay of Islands to Auckland

Tuesday January 1st 2013

What a beautiful start to 2013! It's a gorgeous day, not a cloud in sight and warm (25C) with a light breeze.

After a nice breakfast, we packed up our luggage & left it to be delivered to our coach, then walked to the jetty and waited for our boat to arrive at 8.15am. It was a really nice boat with inside and outside seating on 2 decks. We made 2 stops to pick up other passengers (Paihia & Russell) and off to find dolphins. Find them we did ...... several large pods which stayed around our boat for long periods. I took heaps of photos, however only a few contained the dolphins as they seemed to dive underwater just as I clicked!

After that we headed out to Hole in the Rock, an amazing spot where, if the water is calm enough, the boat actually moves through the hole with just 2 metres to spare. We were lucky as it was pretty calm so through we went. Apparently they only make it through about 20% of the time. After some more scenic cruising we docked at a little island for lunch (Okahu). It was just gorgeous, so unspoiled and the water was that beautiful turquoise colour. We had a nice salad and a beer (no cider here :( then back on the boat for our return trip. In total the trip took 5 hours and was just amazing. I will include a range of photos.

Back to our coach & off to Auckland with just a coffee stop along the way. Arrived in Auckland at 5.30pm & have the room next door to where we spent 2 nights last week. Tonight some passengers leave & others join so we have an included dinner in the rooftop restaurant (yes that same one Jan) at 7.30pm, so time for a quick rest and blog catchup before dinner. I did try writing on the coach, however it was difficult & with my dodgy right arm I decided to leave it until now. On a positive note I am feeling a little better today and managed getting on & off the coach by myself. My bruises from yesterday's mishap are growing by the minute. Luckily the worst on is well covered.

Hope everyone enjoyed NYE and are looking forward to a great 2013!

Had best find these photos.

More tomorrow.

Day 2 - Bay of Islands - Free Day

Monday December 31st 2012 - New Years Eve

Weather - Fine & Sunny. Temp 28C

After a fair nights sleep we woke to brilliant sunshine, so headed to the restaurant for the buffet breakfast which was very nice. We sat outside with a coffee as it was very warm even at this hour. I plan on taking my camera down later to get some nice photos and then check out the free Internet. I did hear we can have 15minutes/room/day. Very generous!

Because this is a free day on our tour we can either take an optional excursion or do our own thing. I have decided to just stay at the resort & try to rest my aching bones. Without going into major detail, I have had a flare up of my arthritis over the past few days, making the most minor tasks painful to the extreme, with all joints involved & my right arm almost unusable (am typing with my left hand) I am feeling like a 95 yr old! I have convinced Mike to take a little trip to the local town down the road & check out the area.

Thanks to some Panadol & Nurofen, I have managed a short walk around the resort and some nice photos, so will finish this entry shortly and hopefully use my 15minutes of Internet to. Upload both yesterday's and today's entries. Not sure If I will get another chance before Tuesday night so will take this opportunity to wish everyone a very, very Happy New Year.

Mike is currently off exploring the nearby area and will be back around lunch time. We are planning to spend New Years Eve here at the resort. Apparently this is a great viewing spot for the fireworks, however not sure if its just midnight or if they have a 9pm session as well. Not sure this old duck will make midnight! We have a couple of choices for dinner tonight at the resort, either something light from the bar menu, or a huge buffet for around $90/head. So will just wait and see how we feel when the time comes. We still have a supply of alcohol in our room which is great as the bar prices here are pretty exorbitant. It's fine for a couple of drinks, but more than that you need a bank loan!

We will be leaving the resort tomorrow morning 01/01/13 & taking a 2 hour cruise through the Hole in the rock which is here in The Bay of Islands & apparently very nice. Then we head on back to Auckland, arriving around 5.30pm. So hopefully I will be able to send a few SMS from there.

We had a nice late lunch & local cider (slowly working our way through every local variety) outside near the pool. Although very sunny & hot, on the ocean side there is a beautiful cooling breeze and the tables are all under large umbrellas, so fully shaded. Mike picked up more wine & nibbles (cheeses, smoked salmon, nuts, fruit & crackers) on his excursion into the local town earlier so after a late afternoon nap we set out our spread and opened up the wine. No cutlery except teaspoons so we had fun cutting up the cheeses!

Now you must promise not to laugh at this next little story ....... Remember I will know if you do!

OK .... Here goes .... After consuming just 2 mouthfuls of the wine (that is the absolute truth) I leaned forward to get some cheese & the side of my chair collapsed & I landed (pretty heavily) on the floor, hitting my left arm, hip & lower leg on the broken part of the chair. When we checked the chair more closely you could see where it had been previously broken and just glued together. Well I was laying on the floor laughing but Mike didn't see the humour. He took the broken portion & complained to the Hotel Manager and they apologised & removed the chair immediately. I do have some nasty looking bruises appearing in several places, so that combined with my arthritis has not helped the mobility! I wish I had consumed more of the wine before the fall, maybe the pain would have been less.

I did manage an evening walk and we sat and listened to the band & watched the boats on the water. As we need to be up early on New Years Day, we have decided not to stay up for the midnight celebrations & fireworks. Guess we are really getting old!

OK .... Time to add photos and try to upload this entry.

PS - As you may have noticed, my plan to upload this entry failed as it took my entire 15 Internet minutes to upload the last entry. Will try again in am before we leave.

Happy New Year again.