“Aerial view of the Champagne Pool, Artists Palette and Sinter Terraces at Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland.” This truly was amazing to see in person! I am so glad we went!
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You are seeing the lift that returns luge riders to the top of the hill after exciting luge rides down. We rode the luge, although my daughter did not like it as it was VERY rough riding and hard on the hands. My boys and husband loved it though and rode several times! From the back: “A view from the top with Lake Rotorua in the distance. The Skyline is a hugely popular gondola ride with a restaurant at the top and other amusements, such as the Luge ride. The lift closest is bringing people back from the bottom of the Luge.”
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(Doesn’t really look like night to me, but that’s what the card says!) You can see all the steam rising from various places around the city though, showing how active this area is. And yes, it smells like sulfur in many places!
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The gondola rides high above Rotorua on Mt. Ngongotaha overlooking Lake Rotorua
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1 km long Luge Track — they actually have three tracks. All riders must first ride the “scenic” track, which is the longest and easiest. After navigating that, then you can move on to the intermediate and advanced tracks, which my sons and husband tell me are much faster, much more treacherous and much shorter! Glad I didn’t ride those — the scenic track was hard enough for me! 🙂
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This is Maori Warrior Renata Kawepo Tama-K-Hikarangi as painted by Gottfried Lindauer (1839-1926). I think my sister got this for me because the warrior’s name was Renata! 🙂
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Alas, although we were within eye’s view of Mt. Maunganui, we did not make it over to the Mount itself during our stay in Papamoa. From the back: “With apartment blocks and cafes springing up along the length of Mt. Maunganui’s Ocean Beach, this area is becoming one of New Zealand’s most sought after recreational/residential localities and a magnet for holidaymakers.” You’ve got that right–it’s beautiful! I’ve actually look at real estate in the area myself! 🙂
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“This charming town on the Waikato River has a distinctly English flavour with its old churches, stately trees and a village green.” This is also where we stopped for lunch during our drive to the holiday home in Papamoa — we actually stopped at that redish building in the upper right cutout! It housed a gift shop on the lower floor and a cafe on the upper floor. We had sausage rolls, mince pies and other New Zealand treats 🙂 We also suspect that Nettie got sick from her meal here! Oops!
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I fell in love with one artist’s representation of the Pohutukawa flowers, although I did not buy the piece — maybe next time! From the back: “Growing profusely around the North Island’s north-eastern coastline, the pohutukawa presents a blaze of colour during the Christmas period when its rich, red blooms are usually at the showiest. It is sometimes called the New Zealand Christmas tree.”
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New Zealand’s agricultural heartland, which we drove through on our way to and from Papamoa. “The lush, undulating plains of Waikato district have the distinction of being amongst some of the world’s richest farmland.”
Top left: Dairying near Matamata (the site of the first English settlement in 1865)
Top right: Horticultural blocks, Cambridge
Bottom left: Agricultural field days, Mystery Creek
Bottom right: Stud farm, Cambridge
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