SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2013
BOTTOM LINE:
Drove from the Waitomo
to Rotorua
BACK STORY:
Today we left Waitomo
at 8:45am. Rain had settled into the
region. Our first stop was to be a 30
minute hike up into the steep Ruakuri Reserve.
Because of the weather and conditions of steep and slippery rocks I,
along with 8 others stayed in the bus while everyone else joined the guide.
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| Countryside |
Within 30 minutes we
were on our way to Hobbiton to leave off those on the bus that would be doing a
movie set tour. The tour is where the
Lord of the Rings film trilogy location was.
A local farmer was approached and asked if the movies along with the
current Hobbit movie could be shot. He
agreed and once the directors left, he turned the area into a tour. We declined.
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| Hobbiton, New Zealand |
The bus drove onto the
town of Rotorua where we would be spending the night. The driver pointed out the very unusual hills
of the surrounding area. A huge volcanic
eruption in the 1800’s blew volcanic stones, lava and mud all over the
countryside. The hills stand as
reminders. The area is some 600 years
over due for an eruption.
 |
| Rotorua, New Zealand |
 |
| Rotorua Botanical Gardens |
With the smell of sulfur in the air and sightings of steam coming from storm water drains, boiling mud pools and geysers, we were in an unusual town. It is nick named Rotten-rua for a reason.
Most of our tour group
booked a concert and meal with Tamaki tours to a village where a cultural
program is presented. We again passed on
that tour. Between Polynesian cultural
centers in Hawaii and movie sets in Southern Cal, we were more interested in
walking around the town and seeing local sights.
While others were away seeing a movie set, we walked downtown and caught a show at the cinema...Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Walking back to the hostel we found a Turkish Kebob restaurant and ate one of our best meals on the trip.
We lucked out on the hostel. We were given a private double with a bathroom.
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