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Mount Tarawerea (middle distance) that erupted in 1886 |
So apart from the museum and the park, and free campsite
hot pools we haven’t fully immersed ourselves in Rotorua, firstly because of
the mortgage you need to take out to afford it and secondly because of the
signs in the carparks, and the horror stories we’ve heard about thefts from
vehicles. It wouldn’t matter what we tried, we couldn’t disguise that the van
is a van, with all our worldly belongings in it. So we did a nice drive,
looking at the blue and green lakes (though to be honest, without the sun on
them they both looked very similar) some very very nice lake side houses and
finished up at Okere Falls, which have the highest (7m) falls regularly done as
part of a white water rafting trip.
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The 7m white water raft drop (see the kayaks, bottom left) |
We walked the route, and were very tempted,
we missed the boats coming down (sadly wrong place wrong time) but heard the
screams! The following day, on the shores of Lake Rotoiti however dawned grey
and wet, so although I know we would have ended up wetter, we decide to leave it.
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Our first traffic jam in NZ (due to tree felling further on) |
We headed up towards Katikati via Tauranga and Mount
Maunganui, known by the locals as ‘The Mt’ and by Brian as Mt Merangue! Decided
not to walk to the top (although not far) as it was still spitting and there
are some climbs we fancied, so decided to come back ‘later’. Arrived at
Katikati to go and see Robyn and Murray, my long lost rellies. Robyn visited
my Granny, on my father’s side, a few times, and remembers me aged about 6, and
has visited Dad and Elizabeth in Spain a couple of times. We’d had some very
welcoming emails, but it’s still a little strange turning up on the door step
of people you don’t remember ever having met!
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Murray and Robyn (with Condi!) |
Why we worried though, we don’t know, they are lovely, so
welcoming, from the minute we arrived on Thursday afternoon we didn't
stop talking till late bed nearly at midnight!
There were 2 cakes and when we went into
the bedroom there was half of one of them (which Robyn reckons is dry so would be
better with custard, so who are we to argue?) and biscuits (which are yummy) a
travel magazine for NZ, some puzzles out of the paper, and Robyn was apologetic
there weren't many (but I can't remember mentioning puzzles either in email or
in the blog, is she psychic?) a bag of apples and passionfruit, which have now been
supplemented with more apples, kiwi fruit (which we picked from the neighbours
orchard while out walking the dogs - they were the ones the picking gang missed!) onions, an avocado
(that's what they grow)......
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Robyn and Murray's super house...... |
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....and garden, with views over the estuary (Mt. Maunganui is the tiny dot in the middle distance) |
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Very cute, small horse sized Condi |
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and soft, cute Roshi |
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A very tame fantail that likes to fly in through the window to eat insects! |
The four dogs range in size from cat sized,
Nushka, to small horse, Condi (who’s going to get bigger, well, fill out a bit,
as she’s only an 8 month old 'puppy'), with middle sized Millie and Roshi, the
Staffordshire bull terrier (never thought I'd say, but Roshi, is my favourite!
She's really very cute!). They spend most of their time outside though, coming
in one at a time, almost, though perhaps that's for our benefit! There are also 2 parrots in the garage, a cockatiel
called Bob in the back garden, swans, ducks and other birds that Murray breeds!
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Mount Maunganui |
Yesterday we thought we'd see if we could
get an appt at the doctors as B has had a lump on his shoulder since mum was here,
Picton I believe, so 5 or 6 weeks which has just got bigger and lumpier! I've ‘attended’
to it, but it's never got any smaller or gone away! I thought it was just an
infected bite, quick dose of antibiotics and all would be fine! (With my vast
medical knowledge obviously!)
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View from the top |
Triage nurse thought it was a sebaceous cyst,
sadly the doctor thinks it might be that, but might be (and if he was a kiwi
and had always been exposed to more sun than a Brit, would almost definitely be
) a basal cell carcinoma! So either way, he's on AB's now, and is going to have
it removed on Tuesday am at the doctors! So slightly shell shocked, we went
back for lunch, pottered off the Mt Maunganui for a walk and a little climb,
and went back and cooked Mexican for us all, lovely to have a proper kitchen again!
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another view showing the peninsular (sea left, harbour right) |
We’ve come up to the Coromandel for
the weekend which is a very pretty peninsular with lots of beaches and good
walking. The forecast however is poor, and it didn't start off too well but
ended up nice now, though it is really much cooler - there was a vague
suggestion in the forecast for hail! By then however, having done a recce of
hotwater beach, and Hahei Beach, we opted for the campsite and tea and cake
option. Hotwater Beach only works two hours either side of low tide so we are
planning to be up early tomorrow to go and dig our hole on hot water beach, which
should fill with water between 60 and 64 degrees, but as the clocks go back we
get an extra hour in bed, so early won't really be early anyway!
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Hot water beach. The hot water rises further to the right (but the tide's in!) |
We've then got Monday and, afterwards back
to stay with Robyn and Murray Monday night, ready for Tuesday morning (unless
the weather is really pants, in which case we might go back earlier!) I'm sure
B will be fine, but if the hystology report (which takes 7 to 10 days) says
they haven’t got it all out, he’ll have to go back again to have the rest out!
But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it! Hopefully that won't happen, and
they'll take it out and it'll just be a cyst anyway!
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