Mount Maunganui - the road to Rotarua

It seemed to be too short a stay at Tairua, but as those who have seen our itinerary know, we needed to push down South so that we could spend more time in the less populated South Island. The drive today was down to Rotarua, but Richard suggested that we visit Mount Maunganui (I'll correct the spelling when I get back home! - Corrected!)

We drove for a couple of hours along the Pacific Coast Highway (obviously not the one in the US!). This part of the highway doesn't really provide much view of the coast, but still takes you through wonderful countryside. Green grassland fields that look like a gigantic rumpled rug of beize. Hills made by giant hands pulling the land skyward. The New Zealand hawks patrol along the hills looking for their next target amongst the profusion of cattle. There are deer farms, sheep farms and diary farms all along the route.

As we actually got towards the coast we could see Mount Maunganui looming. I don't know anything about the mountain itself, but because it's on the North Island you can bet your geologist's gear that it an extinct volcano with the top blown off!

Louisa and I climbed to the summit to see fantastic views in all directions. Again, the birdlife is prolific and very tame. Near the summit I spied some playful birds in the bushes. As I approached one of them (with my sad, twitcher's zoom lens!) it pointed it's head towards the ground and fanned open it's long tail. I have later come to know these birds as, surprisingly, Fantails!

Although the weather on the way to Rotarua was cloudy and at times rainy, it cleared up as we walked up the mountain (we chose the moderate route rather than the difficult, rocks falling on your head route!). One thing that we both learned was that although there are clouds around, ultra-violet light can penetrate them and you can get burned very quickly. New Zealand has the highest incidence of skin melanoma in the world, and it's easy to see why. The advice actually is not to go out in the sun between the hours of 11am and 3pm! Whoops...

The descent down the mountain was a lot easier but, hot from our labours we went for a cold drink in one of the many cafes along the seafront. Louisa, generous as always, decided to pay with a $10 note that Phil had given her; (he had some spare change from when he last visited New Zealand. We thought it a little strange when the waitress had to phone someone to see if she could accept the money. Little did we know that Phil last visited New Zealand over twenty years ago and the note was no longer legal tender (and is probably worth more than its face value now)! The waitress came back and said that they couldn't accept it and that she'd never even seen one like it. She said it was older than she was!

Thanks Phil!

Road to Rotarua
We hit the road again for another couple of hours, and I remember very clearly the moment we approached Rotarua. 20kms away from our destination I smelled the famous hydrogen sulphide; rotten eggs! 20kms away... that is some bad egg, I can tell you, and with the requisite number of, "ugh! Was that you?" jokes (that Louisa didn't seem to find funny) we arrived in the town.

We had 2 nights in Rotarua, and from the photos and alleged 4 star rating, we were quite looking forward to a comfortable stay in the Devonwood manor. Needless to say, we were very disappointed at the accommodation (don't worry, there are plenty of brilliant, good value places to stay in NZ - but this isn't one of them!). The 4 stars seems to indicate the number of facilities available. Our room, on the face of it sounded nice. Spa bath, tea and coffee making facilities, electric blanket (electric blankets seem to be common in New Zealand!). So, tired, and sunburned we decided to find somewhere decent to eat... and that we did...