Day 27 – February 10, 2011 – Tauranga, New Zealand

It was a long day today.  We took one of the longer tours out to the Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland.  First, a 1.5 hour bus ride through the countryside.  We drove throve areas of their man-made forests and kiwi growing areas.  It is interesting to see forests where the trees are all the same size and in straight rows.  They grow a pine tree imported from California that matures in 22-25 years so timber is a big industry in this area.  It is also the largest Kiwi growing area.  What I didn’t know was that there are now two kinds of Kiwi’s being grown – the green one we are familiar with and a newer gold Kiwi which is supposed to be sweeter and takes a shorter growing season.

We drove through Rotorua, a pretty tourist town on the banks of one of the large lakes in the area whose name I can’t pronounce or spell.  Then out to the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal reserve where our first stop was at a group of mud pots.  Then a short drive down to the vistor’s center and on to the Lady Knox Geyser.

This one was different from anything we have seen elsewhere in the world.  They actually set this one off every day at a set time but putting in “an environmental friendly soap”.  After two minutes, the geyser starts foaming and then erupts to a height of about 100 meters.   It was in a small area that was extremely full of people and when our seven buses arrived it got even fuller.  We got a standing room seat on the end of a row and so had a good view.

Then they drove us the short way back to the Visitor Center where we had about 40 minutes to walk around the thermal area.  It was mostly hot pools and collapsed craters with various colors, but mostly the yellow of sulfur – which, of course, means the smell of sulfur.   There was one large colorful pool, the Champagne Pool, which looked like champagne because of the bubbles appearing on the surface.

Next stop was the Rainbow Springs – they could have skipped this one!  It was basically an area where they have large trout swimming around with a few cages for some native birds.  There was an enclosure where there were 3 Kiwi birds, but you couldn’t see them and the guide walked so fast that no one could hear him tell where the birds could be spotted.

Final stop was the Sky Gondola Ride up the side of a mountain to the restaurant.  Again, seven buses arrived at about the same time.  Luckily, we had a great driver in Bus No 1 so we usually arrived first.  We were able to get up the Gondola without the lines that happened just behind us.  By now it was after 2:00pm and most of us were hungry.  They had a buffet set up but tried to herd us to tables first and then said they would call us one table at a time.  Our table was called second so again, we missed the long, long lines.  The start of the food line was in the way of the entrance so people just coming up from the Gondola tried to get in line as well and so a confused, crowded mess occurred.

The food was not too bad for a buffet line but the room was way too crowded and it was difficult to get the chairs in and our from the table.  Plus, the room was getting very warm with the number of people all crowding in.  We escaped onto the terrace where it was at least a bit cooler and had a nice view.  While some of the last people were still in line, they started the Maori local entertainment in the middle of the room.  By that time, all Fred wanted to do was to get back down the Gondola.  We stood at the back of the room and watched the group for about 15 minutes then snuck out the back way and got down the Gondola before the crowds.

While the day itself wasn’t bad, the crowding because of the number of coaches and the inclusion on one too many stops, made the day less pleasant than it could have been.  I think this is the result of the “free” excursions.  They put too many people on them to accommodate everyone that wants to go and a lot of the venues just don’t accommodate that many people.

After dinner at the Compass Rose, we went to the show by Glen Amer, an Australian that sings and plays the piano.  He was quite good.

Day 28 – Cruising White Island Volcano

White Island is a volcano in the middle of the Bay of Plenty, which is a very, very large bay.  We sailed extremely slow all night so we would be at the volcano by 7:00am.  The Captain then sailed around it.  Only one side had any real activity and he stopped and turned the ship around so everyone could see the steam vents and colors of the rocks.

The rest of the day was a sea day on our way to Wellington.  We went to bridge class.  These 3 sessions are on Popular Conventions, which is good because Jan doesn’t know them very well and Fred needs the refresher.  Jan went to a lecture by an Englishwoman, Paula Smith, about the Canterbury Pilgrims – the first settlers in the area of Christchurch.

Lunch was supposed to be a New Zealand Fish Barbeque, but it was pouring down rain.  They had moved the grill under cover but it was raining so hard for about 30 minutes there wasn’t any way to get to it.  The rain stopped finally and passengers were able to get fish if they wanted.

Jan decided to try Duplicate Bridge in the afternoon.   My partner was a very nice German lady but she was frustrated by Jan’s lack of bridge skills.  It was fun in that you played a lot of hands and I did learn some things.  I don’t know whether I’ll try again or whether the lady will even show up since I did so poorly…I wouldn’t blame her.

Tonight we had dinner at Signatures at a table for two.  We really don’t care much for the 6:30pm seating especially at a table for two because you get through so early and then have to find something to do until the show.  Most of the lounges are empty of entertainment during the dinner hour.   Dinner was good at Signatures.  We both had the lamb.   Desert was a delicious warm chocolate tart and Crème Brule.