Te Aroha and Paeroa

Another sunny, clear, cold day. After leaving Rotorua our first stop was Te Aroha where e headed to the hot pools for a soak.

Our favourite pool is just out of sight, in front of the little building. It's like a big spa pool and is the hottest.

We had hoped to have a session in the recently restored Edwardian bath house but it was fully booked.

The buildings and layout of the Domain reflect the prosperity Te Aroha enjoyed in Edwardian times, when it was a popular spa town.

Just down the road is Paeroa, where we parked for the night beside the rail trail.

Another town full of antique shops...

We spent a quiet evening at Paeroa before heading home, our first trip in the new bus completed.

Sunny Rotorua

A fine day at last, but very cold. After coffee and shopping we all headed to the Redwoods where we did the treewalk, 28 walkways between 27 massive trees.

Malcolm on one of the platforms

Me, complete with beanie

Allister

After the treewalk we went to the Lakefront and walked to Ohinemutu...

...where there is a Marae...

...and a pretty church called St Faith's. It was locked so we couldn't go inside (though we've visited before). From inside this Maori Jesus appears to be walking on the waters of the lake.

St Faith's

After lunch on Eat Street we headed of to the 'Thermal Wonderland' at Wai-O-Tapu. Formed around 160,000 years ago there are boiling pools of mud, craters and steaming fumaroles. According to Wikipedia, a fumarole is an opening in a planet's crust which emits steam and gases such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen sulfide.

It took around 90 minutes to explore Wai-o-Tapu, certainly a unique landscape.

At night we went back to the Redwoods where the treewalk was illuminated. We walked around amongst and under laser lightshows and lanterns. It was surreal and amazing, well worth seeing.

Rainy Rotorua

First stop after leaving Cambridge was Tirau, world famous in New Zealand for its corrugated everything. The sheep and ram are buildings...

Even the sign outside the dairy is corrugated.

In Rotorua we freedom camped on Hinemoa Street, right beside the Polynesian Spa (hot pools)...

...and right beside this little pond, complete with fountain.

After a visit to the hot pools with our friends, Malcolm and I went for a walk along this part of the lake, first passing an area full of sculpture...

...and the museum.

This part of the lakeside had steaming mud,lots of birdlife,

and more sculpture.

Looping back to the bus we walked through the museum grounds...

these are two of the carvings around the monument.

Then off to a restaurant for dinner with our friends.

A wet day in Cambridge (New Zealand)

Our shakedown trip on the bus.  We packed some clothes and food, made up the bed...

and headed off to Cambridge, where we spent a rainy night before exploring the town. 

Cambridge is famous for it's horses and there were horsey references everywhere.

We wandered around admiring the heritage buildings,

and exploring the antique shops...

We also spent time looking around the museum. Then we went for a loop walk along both sides of the river, starting at the bridge that looked like it was made from meccano.

Built in 1907 this was the first hinged, arched bridge built in Australasia. There were five cars in Cambridge at this time, becoming, it was said, as common as wandering cows. 

It was pretty wet down by the river...

...and mossy. 

At this point our friends Jo, Allister and Elaine arrived and we moved the bus to the airbnb they had rented.