Rotorua & Hawkes Bay

Impressive geysers
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The last time Michelle was in Rotorua it was really busy, this time it was much quieter so we realised we were here before the summer crowds in January and February. Highlights were bathing in the Polynesian Spa nestled at the side of the lake, rated one of the Top 10 in the world, flying down a hill on a tea tray on the luge track, and of course the main attraction exploring the thermal reserves - Wai Tapo being the most impressive. We thought the thermals we'd seen in Bolivia were impressive but this beat them hands down. Squirty geyzers, amazing coloured mineral pools and bubbling lakes all in a beautiful, natural setting.

Not so friendly locals
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This was also Bette's first night in a hostel, and we're pleased to say that New Zealand hostels are on the whole excellent and she was impressed throughout the trip. Especially when some even provided a hair dryer!

We zoomed on to Napier -the art deco town on the East coast with the main purpose of exploring the Hawkes Bay wine region (famed for producing some great reds). Bette's thorough pre trip research came in useful here as she had already sampled most of the countries wines. We splurged on a "Twilight Wine and Food Tour" of the area that evening. It consisted of some beer and wine tasting  followed by a three course dinner - each course in a different winery. It turned out to be a private tour for the three of us as nobody else was booked on. We even had champagne as we watched the sunset from a hilltop overlooking the wineries- nice touch. It was a great way for us to see the area and gave us the chance to try some restaurants out that we wouldn't have discovered otherwise. One of them was even rated as one of the Top 75 restaurants in the world recently.

Dave trying his hand at the luge - a tea tray on wheels
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We were very 'merry' when we returned to our hostel until we realised Bette's key to her first floor room didn't work. It resulted in David having to climb up some builders scaffolding and clambering in the window to get in the room. This all made for a very enjoyable and entertaining evening. Thank you to the Smith family for treating us to a great evening tour.