We slept in till after 9.00 after our big day yesterday. Our morning constitutional took us down to the end of our street - Pukaki Street (yep) - to the gardens at the end. Sulphur smells, roses, some fascinating sculpture and two surprises. We hadn't realised there were thermal sites right here in town. There were noisome holes in the mud by the lake, bubbles and some fascinating history on our walking trail. The other surprise was that were some beautiful heritage buildings and the Rotorua Museum. The Rotorua Museum was designed with the same sort of colonial understatement that gave the world Dunedin Railway Station.
After walkies we found the supermarket and stocked up on picnic supplies.
We drove out to the gorgeous Blue Lake. I walked a lap and found a lookout where you could see the Blue Lake with its swimmers and waterskiers on one side and the deserted Green Lake on the other. (The Green Lake is owned by the Maori still, is sacred, and all activity is forbidden.) It was quite a contrast.
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| The swimming beach at Blue Lake |
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| On the walk around Blue Lake |
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| The plants in New Zealand often look a bit "Jurassic Park" |
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| Panorama Blue Lake |
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| Looking in the other direction at Green Lake |
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| Lyn is stretching after the walk she didn't do ... |
After a morning of exploring lakes we drove back to the forest park and had our picnic. Walking fiends that we are, we couldn't resist the 2 kilometre stroll through the incredible memorial grove of California Redwoods. They were awe inspiring.
We had intended to finish the day with a trip to the museum. Then we saw the entrance fee - $20 each - and decided we were too tired to spend $40 to learn more about Maoris and thermal stuff.
We were listening to a sports radio show as we drove. The subject was the upcoming cricket World Cup. The expert was saying that anything less than making the final might be considered a "fail" but, if that wasn't possible, then the important thing was to beat Australia ...
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