Leaving the Bay of Islands and Russell was tough. The views were so nice and it was such a relaxing six days. One thing about the house I hadn't mentioned previously was the wild guinea pigs that lived on the property. We're going to miss their antics as well.
The first morning we were there we looked out and were surprised to see a couple of wild guinea pigs grazing in the grass. Turns out they seem to live in and around several large shrubs. There were seven of them that we named after watching them for a day or two. They were all very different looking and were named according to their colors and size. There was snowball, skunk, white spot, big daddy, big blackxie, little blackxie, and little bay. Little Bay was marked similar to a dog we had for a long time that was named Beethoven. We didn't see little bay all that much. My guess is that he was laid up asleep under the bushes much like his namesake used to do. We enjoyed them and rewarded them with some nice pieces of green apple the morning we left.
First stop on our drive was out of curiosity. Our high energy bus driver/guide Willie had told us about the "five star" hot mineral pools of Ngawha Springs. We had looked it up and knew already that Willie's grading system was a little lax. It was only a minute or two down a side road so we decided to ride by just to take a peak.
I guess we were seduced by the primitive conditions and the smelly dark water because the next thing you know we were soaking in it's magical elixir.
It did feel good although I can't say I felt any younger getting out of bed this morning. I can also tell you that even after a nice hot soapy shower I can still detect a slight smell of sulfur every now and then and I'm not sure the bathing suits will ever recover. Fun experience but once in a lifetime is probably enough for this one.
Next it was on to the Waipoua Forest and the amazing Kauri Trees. While not as tall as the California Redwoods the girth of the largest of these trees was close to sixty feet which is nearly double the redwoods. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic it was breathtaking to stand and stare at Te Matua Ngahere (Father of the Forest) that has stood for over two thousand years.
Our destination was a campground that has basic cabins for rent. The cabins were nice and comfortable but the view from the front porch here of RV's isn't quite the same as Tapeka Bach but we are surrounded by mountains and tress so it's not all that bad!
With regards to the elusive kiwis, I guess we'll just have to come back. We were pretty tired by the time we arrived yesterday afternoon. When we checked in we appreciated the front desk person letting us know they were doing some road work through the forest near where the night walk would take place. She assured us it would be a great walk but that it would be unlikely that we would spot a Kiwi. We took advantage of this information and opted out of the walk.
Tomorrow is a five hour drive to get to Rotorua where the five star hot pools are really five star.
Note to self on the driving, stay left and don't turn on the windshield wipers every time you turn!
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| Looks Like A Five Star Spa! |
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| Ngawha Springs-We Got Out Alive and Nothing Fell Off! |
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| The "Father of the Forest"-the picture doesn't do the size of the tree justice |
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| Loved this sign in the restrooms of the "Five Star" Ngawha Springs! |
