We woke up the morning of our departure from Gisborne to pouring rain and a 3 and 1/2 hour drive ahead of us to Rotorua. It took us an extra hour as the trek ended up being a white knuckle gauntlet through 150km of mountain range. The rain only intensified as we drove. But as soon as we pulled into the parking lot at the most active geyser in NZ, the skies started to part. This site is an active Maori village with bubbling pools of mud, 2 geysers and daily native dance performances.
From there we were off across town to this awesome farm attraction called the “Agrodome”. Here we found this vibrant farm complete with kiwi fruit orchards, sheep, cattle, alpacas, emus, ostriches, and, the most badass animal in New Zealand, the sheep dog. If you haven’t seen one of these at work, please you tube it. The tour ended with this amazing show that taught us about all of the different species of sheep bred in NZ, and then Ely got called up on stage as one of the volunteers. So funny, and like a good husband, I got video of everything (sorry I can’t post it here, but trust me, it’s funny).
Feeling revived from our sheep experience and a delicious cup of coffee, we decided to charge it to our current location in to a region known as the Coromandel. We are currently staying at a park in the small town of Hot Water Beach. This place gets its name because a geothermal spring on the beach at low tide warms the water just beneath the surface. Dig a hole, and you get an instant hot tub. Seriously, it’s real…and it’s awesome.
When we woke up this morning, we did a hiking and snorkel experience straight out of a scene from “The Beach”. This glorious place is called Cathedral cove. Check out the pics!
