New Zealand

This morning we said good-byes to our friends and headed to the airport.  We stopped and picked up an art glass piece we're hand carrying back to Tulsa.  It had been a great trip but it was time to get back to our lives and our cats and our children/grandchild. I was very glad to be back on an American airline, not because the service was bad on the Asian ones but because we finally had some great movie choices.  We love our entertainment options here in 'merica, and I was thankful. All planes were on time, all luggage arrived on our same flights with contents intact.  We had not complaints with our travel other than not being to blink and be home. Already planning our next trip, I would love to explore the south island of New Zealand.  The scenery is supposed to be breathtaking although the North Island isn't too shabby.  It's always a good sign when you're ready to go back after a respite in Tulsa.  Taxes await and I must chain myself to my de...

Sadly, the time had for us to depart Huka Lodge and all the kind hospitality and wonderful food.  We had one last breakfast, this time with the smoked trout they had made from our catch the day before.  It was amazing! A gang of ducks walked up to watch us depart.  The ducks are very tame around the property and were definitely not afraid of humans. We had one sightseeing spot lined up for our trip back to Auckland but we drove through small towns along the way.  We spotted a McDonalds that had taken an old WW II airplane and made it into restaurant seating and advertisement.  Our next stop was out in the middle of the country but is set up to feed hundreds.  Roselands Buffet Restaurant grills a variety of meat on an outside grill.  The rest of the meal comes from an indoor buffet line.  We ate out under the trees since the weather was perfect.  Next up was our actual sightseeing stop,  The Waitomo Glow Worm Caves ....

After breakfast, we were driven into town by the resort to meet our captain for a half day adventure on the lake.  Lake Taupo is the largest natural body of water in the Southern Hemisphere created from a series of volcano craters.  The lava bed means this lake is deep, cold and very clear.  We took a tour around part of the lake before heading to our destination for the rest of the morning. One of the more interesting sights was an area of carvings in the cliffs done by an artist over a several year period of time.  Most represented native symbols and animals.  You can tell how large the are from the kayaks close by. With the sightseeing concluded, we head off for the main activity of the day - fishing.  The main catch on the lake is trout.  The spawn in the nearby rivers but return to the lake to fatten up and recover.  Because trout like cold water, special weights were added to the lines to get the bait down to where they hang ou...

This morning, we had the good fortune to see this beautiful area via helicopter.  Our pilot, Brian De Paw,  from Volcanic Air  met us at a nearby helipad to start our adventure.  From the air, you can really understand just how much geothermal activity there is in the area.  White clouds of steam dotted the landscape along with pipelines carrying the steam to power plants. Our first stop was at the geothermal fields at  Orakei Korako .  We took a boat across the water to start our visit to the site.  A clear path leads you around the various pools available for viewing.  The water colors and sediment were very vibrant (and warm).  The path also takes you past a gurgling mud pond. Our next visit was the top of Mt. Tarawera.  We had an incredible view of our surroundings including White Island which erupted in December. You might remember that several people from ...