New Zealand 2018 - Part 6

October 8, 2018 - Monday

Up and out early, Di took us on a brief driving tour of Auckland then we were on our way to the Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove in the town of Hahei. The hot water beach is unique in that if the tide is right you can dig a pit is various areas of the beach close to the water line and hot water from a hot spring will fill the pit and create a hot tub. Lots of fun. The path to the top of Cathedral Cove is right by the lodge where we are staying but, Di suggested that she drive us to the top so that those that were going to the cove itself would have less of a walk back to the lodge. We stayed at the Tatahi Lodge Beach Resort www.tatahilodge.co.nz in a charming 2 bedroom cottage.  Dinner was at a local restaurant located next to the lodge.

October 9, 2018 – Tuesday

We are now 2 days into our tour and we are finding that we are a very congenial group. During a discussion with Di, I mentioned that our son Scott is a sound engineer with the band Imagine Dragons. Di commented that she had songs from the band on her iPod. On our journey to the Geo Thermal Areas in Rotorua Di asked the group if anyone knew the band. Everyone said yes. A short time later Di told us that we needed to learn a short song in “Maori” to sing to our hosts that night when we entered the Tamaki Maori village, https://www.tamakimaorivillage.co.nz, for dinner. We also needed to give our group a name. After some discussion, we named ourselves “Imagine Kiwi’s” to honor Imagine Dragons. This name was also used when one of our tech-savvy team members set up a WhatsApp group that all joined so we can communicate during the tour and after.

 We stop at the WaimanguVolcanicValley, www.waimangu.co.nz in Rotorua to view the fantastic scenery and the GeoThermal pools, paint pots and geysers. There is a walking trail that is a total of 5.4K that can be walked or there is a bus to take people between the thermal pools with only short walks from the bus to each pool. Words cannot describe the beauty of the pools and photos only capture some of the depth of colors.

 Our adventure continues to our dinner and overnight at the Tamaki Maori Village. Before entering the village we greet our hosts with the traditional Maori song and they sing a welcome song to us. We are given a light snack and then shown to the “Guest House” where we will spend the night. The guest house is one big room with 12 single beds. Showers and toilets are a short walk away. It is like an overnight camp bunkhouse. We all pick our beds and laugh lots about who snores, and who will get up for a toilet visit. (What we call “restrooms” are called “toilets” in both New Zealand and Australia. If you ask for a “Ladies or Men’s Restroom” some people have no clue what you mean.) This is the test that really pulls us together as a group. The night has just started. We are escorted to the front of the village where we enter a traditional campground with huts and fire pits and natives in different areas show-off native fighting skills and crafts. Several in our group are asked to participate with the natives. Next, we enter a theatre room where we see a show of native dances and history. Dinner is a traditional Hangi meal which is very good but not much different from a catered meal at home. Some of the group go directly to the Guest House others go to the outdoor fire-pit to talk before heading to sleep.  

 ***Michael and I joined Goldrush Getaways Travel Agency, as independent travel consultants, in May of 2017. We have been low key until now (January 2019), testing the waters with domestic travel and taking many classes. This is the third big trip for us and each has been a total success!!! We are now ready to actively help others with their travel needs. Contact us at 410-929-1732 or mytravelinglady@gmail.com