EASTERN BAY OF PLENTY
After another Friday morning spent getting Bertie all geared up to go, we took off early Friday afternoon and were headed to the Eastern Bay of Plenty region. To give you an idea of what this area is like, it is the coastal region that Captain Cook sailed through in 1769 and named it The Bay of Plenty because of the abundant food supply and amount of sunshine. It is apparently the sunniest place in New Zealand, with at least 2000 hours of sunshine per year. The weather in Hamilton the last week has been fairly cloudy and rainy at times, so we were due for a dose of sunshine.
More specifically, we drove 105km to the city Tauranga, taking us only about an hour and a half. Since we left fairly early in the day and had some extra daylight to work with, we decided to stop at a few places on the way.
First was just a quick stopover at a lookout with views of the flatland of the Waikato region (pretty much the only flat area on the island).
Next, we stopped at McLaren Falls Park, where we found a beautiful river bank with great big boulders and clear water. There were a few people laying out on the boulders soaking up the sun. But why would you lay there suntanning when you could be jumping from boulder to boulder. Kids could be occupied here for hours Wait... Scott could be occupied here for hours.
Then we made it to Tauranga. As you come into the city, you have the option of taking the toll road or going through the heart of the city to get downtown. In deciding which road to take, we opted out of the toll road because it just bypassed the city and the whole point of coming to these places is to see it. So, we took the route through the city. Arriving into town at about 3:30pm, we realized why people take the toll road. This is when we experienced our first NZ traffic jam. I know it is hard to believe that we haven't come across one in more than 2 months here, but I guess that's the benefit of living in a small city. We can't say we have missed sitting in traffic. This one, however, was not caused by an accident or a stalled car. It was just pure volume. The street taking you into the city happened to have two high schools and a hospital all within a few blocks. And our timing for that could not have been more... perfect. Schools out and most likely a shift change at the hospital.
WEEKEND 1: Scott & Nikki 0
We found out that the NZ International Film Festival was going on in town that weekend, so we checked out what was showing that night. It was a movie called Jiro Dreams of Sushi. We like sushi, so why not. We made some dinner and made it back in time for the show. It was a documentary about Jiro Ono, who is thought of as the best sushi chef in the world. He has a restaurant in Tokyo and has devoted his entire life to being a sushi chef. He is now 85 years old, and still works all day everyday in his restaurant making sushi. If you love sushi, it is a must-see. Just don't see it on an empty stomach.
That night we had to park Bertie in a campground for the night. Because of the rugby, there are a lot more travellers and campervans out and about, and some cities are cracking down on freedom camping. Tauranga being one of them, we had to fork out a little cash and spend our first night in a Holiday Park (which are basically popular caravan parks that have full facilities: bathrooms, hot showers, kitchens, and laundry). It wasn't so bad, just very different from how we are used to camping.
WEEKEND 2: Scott & Nikki 0
Bertie didn't like it much though. I think he felt very inferior to the neighboring campers.
The campground was actually in a town just next to Tauranga, called Mount Manganui, right on the beach and alongside the mountain. There was also a hot swimming pool that looked appealing, so we spent the rest of the evening chilling out there until we returned to small little Bertie and climbed into bed. We tried to console Bertie that night, telling him not to worry... size doesn't matter.
The next morning we woke up, had some breakfast, and decided we'd take on the mountain that was peering over us: Mt. Manganui. We started onto the busy track, and very quickly realized that we were probably some of the only tourists on the trails. It is obviously a very popular track for locals to do their morning exercises or trail running. We definitely stuck out like a sore thumb. It was a short track, and we found ourselves at the summit in about 25 minutes, but the views were amazing.
Overlooking the town of Mt. Manganui to the southeast.
Views of Tauranga to the southwest.
And Ocean views everywhere else.
Very often while hiking, we come across trails that go along some major cliff drops and do not have any railing or barrier. On our way down, we were a little concerned when we saw they actually had a railing up. That must mean it is a pretty good drop. Eeekk. 
Only in NZ can you have a sheep farm, the ocean, a forest, and a city all in one shot.
By the time we made it back down, it was time to check-out of the holiday park (another perk of freedom camping... you don't have any checkout times). So we handed in our swipe card and went on the hunt to find some kayaks to use for the afternoon. Unfortunately, the only kayaks we could get our hands on were for guided tours only and we were not wanting that.
WEEKEND 3: Scott & Nikki 0
The other thing we were wanting to do was surfing. But after hearing from some of the guys at the pool the night before that the surfing here hasn't been great lately, we decided to head a little more east in the Bay of Plenty to Whakatane. So off we went along the beautiful road which followed along the ocean on one side with great big cliffs on the other side.
Not only was the scenery beautiful. The road was great. Look... an actual shoulder on the road! Amazing!
We realized as we were driving that we were getting hungry for some lunch, so we found a quiet little beach to stop at to have a picnic. Not really sure what's going on here...
Anyways... after recovering from the strangeness of the last picture, we carried on to Whakatane, arriving just before 1pm. We went to the i-site and the lady there told us where to go for kayak rentals.
So, off we went to the next town called Ohope, only 10 minutes away, to the fisherman's wharf, where we were told the kayak rentals would be. Once we got there, all that was there was a sign for KG Kayaks and a phone number to call. So, we dug out our cellphone and gave him a call. (I knew that cellphone would come in handy eventually).
The Fisherman's Wharf in Ohope
The guy never answered the phone and we were left out in Ohope with no kayaks in sight. Just a few fishermen out on the dock.
WEEKEND 4: Scott & Nikki 0
The guy never answered the phone and we were left out in Ohope with no kayaks in sight. Just a few fishermen out on the dock.
We drove along the beach, hoping to come across another kayak rental, or even a surf shop.... but found nothing. We pulled out our Lonely Planet book and found a number for surfboard rentals and lessons. Perfect. This time someone actually answered.
Man: Oh, ya man, I'm not doing that today.
Scott: Uhmmm... OK.
Man: Sorry dude.
Scott: (hangs up the phone looking very confused).
WEEKEND 5: Scott & Nikki 0
OK. No kayaking. No surfing. Let's go hiking.
There was a hiking trail that started just down the beach. So we put on our hiking boots and packed a bag and off we went. When we arrive at the trail head we find this....
WHAT? NO! We are doing it anyways.
Feeling a tad discouraged but determined, we decide to go along anyways. How bad could it really be? The weekend is NOT beating us on this one.
A little tape isn't going to stop us...
Not long after though, we came to the true cause of the closed track...
The trail no longer existed. It was washed away by rain.
Deciding our mothers would probably fly to New Zealand just to give us a spanking for this one, we turned back and ended up back on the beach right where we started.
WEEKEND 6: Scott & Nikki 0. But still smiling.
We ended up just chilling out on the beach for a while, had a snack, and then decided we were so tired of not being able to do what we wanted... so we had a nap.
Once we woke up we made delicious Sweet and Sour Meatballs for dinner (OK... by make, I mean warm up). Then we headed to the local pub to watch the All Blacks vs France rugby game. We started talking to a couple sitting at the next table and they just happened to be Canadian (from Vancouver). And then at half time, a Kiwi guy from across the pub came up to us, having recognized our 'accent'. He had done a bike trip across Canada, ended up spending a couple years in Calgary, and met his wife in Calgary. What a small world.
That night we were back to our usual way of camping. We found a spot to stay overnight down past the marina. We were a little worried we'd get a knock on the window in the middle of the night, but were undisturbed the entire night. We woke up the next morning and had some breakfast next to the beach. While eating breakfast, we noticed how it had been overcast with little sun, and had been like that most of the weekend. Recalling that we were in what is supposed to be the sunshine capital of NZ....
WEEKEND 7: Scott & Nikki 0.
We said goodbye to this area and drove a little ways inland to Rotorua. We spent some time here a few weeks back, but didn't have enough time to do everything we wanted. So, since it was only a little over an hour away, we decided to go there again. The one main thing bringing us back was a place called Skyline. It was a little bit of a rainy overcast day, but that wasn't going to stop us.
First you hop on the skyline Gondola which takes you 487m up Mt. Ngongotaha. It was a very slow ride, and even though there wasn't any snow, it got started getting Scott all antsy for the upcoming ski season. 
Once at the top, you enjoy the views of the Lake Rotorua, and the city of Rotorua while shaking off the pre-activity nerves. 
Then you find a helmet that kind of fits. Made Nikki a little more nervous knowing that this thing was probably not very good at its job in the life-saving department.... Eeeekk! Then you get into a luge cart and go. No safety belt or anything. Just GO!
We took the intermediate track first, just to get the hang of it. It was a 1.7km track of pure fun and excitement with lots of wide corners, narrow chicanes to navigate around and then goes through a tunnel near the end. Apparently there are beautiful views the whole way down, but Nikki was so concentrated on the track that she missed out on that aspect of it.
Then you take a chair lift back to the top and do it all over again. This time we took the advanced track. This one was 1km full of tight bends and dips and then joins the other track before going through the tunnel again and reaching the end of the track. Since the track was wet from the rain, there was some slipping and sliding around corners, and we even got some air on some of the drops, but we both maintained control and came out injury free. We learned later from our roommates that heaps of people get injured doing it. I'd say we beat the weekend on this one.WEEKEND 7: Scott & Nikki 1
It was so much fun and we could have spent a few more hours going up and down the different tracks, but it was at this time that we realized that we had forgotten about Daylight Savings that had bumped the time forward an hour. So we had thought it was only 11am, but it was actually already noon.
WEEKEND 8: Scott & Nikki 1
The other thing bringing us back to Rotorua was that we had heard about an event happening that afternoon called the Rotorua Rugby Mud Festival. Basically, there was a few different games you could do, all in the geothermal hot mud: Rugby, Tug-of-war, mud scrums, diving competitions, and volleyball.
Obviously wanting to play in the mud, we bought an online coupon earlier that week and signed up for the mud volleyball event which was to take place from 3-4pm. We stopped for lunch in town before heading out to the Hells Gate Geothermal area which was just a few minutes outside of town.
We arrived there just before 2pm, got all our gear ready to play volleyball in the mud, and made our way inside figuring we'd have some extra time to check out the other activities going on before our big game of volleyball. We handed over our tickets to the guy at the counter, who then led us to another guy. This guy then looked at our coupons and told us we were a little late and had missed it all. Probably reading our confused faces, he explained that since the weather was so bad, they went ahead with the activities and ended things early.
Our minds were just spinning trying to figure out why a little bit of rain would make any difference to the events when you are out in a pile of mud? Still not really getting it, but what can you do.
WEEKEND 9: Scott & Nikki 1
Fortunately, in exchange for the pre-paid coupon they let us into their geothermal park where we got to see more boiling hot springs and mud pools. We hadn't planned on seeing more of this kind of stuff, as we did lots of it the last time we were in the area, but we thought it'd be nice to go for a walk. So away we went.Some of the unique features of this area compared to the ones we saw before was a beautiful hot waterfall called Kakahi Falls (the largest hot water falls in the southern hemisphere with water reaching up to 40 degrees), and an active mud volcano.
Mud Volcano. Erupts once every 6 weeks.
At the end of the walk, we got to stop at the carving school where we got to carve our very own piece of wood. On the left: Nikki's Kiwi bird (meaning determination). On the right: Scott's symbol meaning strength. We even got to take them home as souvenirs! Also, in compensation for missing out on the mud activities, they took us to the WaiOra Spa and allowed us to soak in a private mud bath for 20 minutes. Definitely not the same as what we were expecting out of playing volleyball in the mud, but we went for a soak anyways.
People pay a lot of money for this kind of spa treatment. The mineral enriched geothermal mud mixed with the sulfurous waters is thought to have healing, moisturizing, detoxifying, and bactericidal properties and is supposed to be great for your skin. The mud can block your pores if you are in it for too long so they have a 20 minute time limit. And because it is so warm, and they don't want people passing out after, they force you into a freezing cold shower for 30 seconds to bring the blood flow back to your heart and head. That was NOT fun. But afterwards, we got to jump into another hot pool and warm up. After looking up the regular prices for what we got to do this afternoon, we realized that we got a great deal. We paid $20 each for the coupon for the Mud Festival. The combo pass for walking around the geothermal area, wood carving, and the private mud spa was normally $115 each.
WEEKEND 9: Scott & Nikki 2
The only downfall to the relaxing mud-filled afternoon was that our clothes reeked of sulfur and even worse, we pretty much had sulfur smells seeping from our pores for the next 24 hours. After a few loads of laundry, and a good work out at the gym followed by a really soapy shower, we are finally rid of the smell!
We made it back to Hamilton, grateful for the extra evening daylight, unpacked Bertie, made some dinner and were so exhausted we went to bed. Even though the weekend kicked our #*@, we still had a good time. I guess we can't complain that out of all the weekends we have travelled so far, this was the first that didn't work out so well.
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