Fishing, Zorbing,Thermal Valley and Wheelie Action!

With a shorter rest/recovery week I had a chance to get out and about (Canadian accent) in Rotorua and explore.

 

We headed out to Lake Okataina for a fish on Saturday, but the fish gods weren't smiling on us. Dirk hooked a small rainbow trout right away, so we were sure that it would be a good day on the lake. Turned out we were a little over-confident and didn't get another bite all day. It wasn't all bad though as we got to spend the day trolling around and enjoying the views.

Rockslide on the steep hill

Mount Tarawera

I had zorbing on my list of to-dos while in Rotorua, so on Tuesday Dirk and I decided to try it out. We did our first ride down together down the straight run, and then each did another ride down the Zig-zag. We decided to do the "Zydro" where you aren't harnessed in and there is water in the orb, so it's a lot like splashing around in a washing machine while rolling down a hill. (not that I've tried this) When we got to the bottom of the hill, we met up with a German film crew who were making a 3D movie about New Zealand. They needed some footage of people zorbing so we ended up being volunteer movie stars for an hour! 



The zorb hill

 

 

 

Down the zig-zag track

 

We took some time on Thursday to walk up into the Whakarewarewa forest to get a view of the Pohutu Geyser and the thermal valley. The geyser didn't put a big show while we were watching, but it can erupt up to 30m.  

Some steam coming from the Pohutu geyser.

The thermal valley with Mount Ngongotaha and Rotorua in the background

Pohutu Geyser

 

 

Later Thursday we took our bikes across the road and had some fun practicing our wheelies! Mine aren't exactly impressive yet but they're coming along!



 

More adventures to come!



Tokorangi Trail- Rotorua

I've gotten a few more videos of the local trails the last couple of days, so here's a little bit of my ride down Tokorangi.

 

 

 

Here's a clip of the trail (the quality drops off after I get into the trees), but it's a pretty fun trail down from the top of Katore Rd!



 

This Really Cool Place Called the Coromandel Peninsula

We decided to take a few days and travel around the Coromandel Peninsula to see what there is to see. After a little planning we packed up the tent, bikes and running shoes and set out to explore.

Martha Gold and Silver Mine in Waihi

 

We stopped on our way up the peninsula at the Karangahake Gorge and checked out some of the old mines and mining trails. 

 

Bridge over the Ohinemuri River

Ohinemuri River

Who's that miner?



Scary mine

Cave Weta (or mine weta?)



Opening where they would dump unusable rock into the river



Railway into the mines

 

Owharoa Falls



We stayed a night in Hahei and went to visit the famous Hot Water Beach. Water from underground hot springs comes to the surface just above the low-tide line and some spots are too hot to stand in!


So hot!





 



People building hot pools



Canadian tourist (with a pro Kiwi photographer)

Hot water bubbling up



A little visual explanation of the hot springs

The nice view at the start of our hike to Cathedral Cove

 

The Cathedral

 

Dirk's model pose

 

One night we felt like rebels and decided to camp out on Motuto Point by Whangapoua. It was a bit of a hike along a rocky trail (in the dark) but we made it and had an amazing view when we woke up in the morning. 

Our tent out on the point

Nice view of New Chums Beach

Sunrise

One of many amazing ocean swims

Waiau Falls

View of Pauanui and Tairua Harbour from Paku Hill

 

Everything here in NZ has been so amazing, and the time has been flying by, so I recently decided to extend my trip for another few weeks! After spoiling myself here with the last 2.5 months of sun, I couldn't bear the thought of getting back on the trainer when I get home. Hopefully it's nice and sunny in Ontario in April when I return!