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| Warrior Number One |
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| Warrior Number Two |
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| Exploring the terrain around Te Puia |
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| geyser at Te Puia |
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| Redwoods |
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| Mud Pool |
Sunny Saturday in Palmy, reflecting on last weekend in Rotorua. We had a nice time, mostly sunny weather with one day of drizzly rain and cold - great for taking photos. Rotorua lies by the side of a flooded volcano in the center of a wide area of volcanic activity in the center of the North Island. There is the constant smell of sulfur from steaming vents throughout the area. Old geezers, oh wait I mean geysers, they pronounce geysers as geezers here, spout regularly with the pressure under the earth. We visited the Redwood forest, has a way to go to catch up to our favorite near Sonoma but very peaceful and lovely. In addition to all the geological attractions, there was also a cable car and a fun luge down the mountain which we had to try a couple of times! No accidents and a lot of fun! Rotorua is also a hub of Maori culture. We visited a Maori village at night complete with war canoe, haka, and cannibalism, oh, wait, no, it was really chicken. The trip got us in the mood for more traveling and in 3 weeks, yes we are counting, we are off to Australia to catch some sun AND mourn Adrian's 60th birthday. We are flying to Brisbane and seeing the sights before moving up the Gold Coast to Port Douglas, a good stopping off point for the Great Barrier Reef. Temperatures should be in the 80's, a big improvement on the not so balmy Palmy. More pics to follow.
