As mentioned in my first post, our cruise on the Bay of Island as cancelled (to the surprise of no one except our stupid guide and driver and driver who were assuring people the cruise was going ahead, even when the weather on the bay looked like this:
We were all hastily bundled back to the same hotel, left to find lunch in the same wet windy town from whence we had been whisked at unnecessary haste, and generally not entertained at all. There is a general feeling of anger in the group, not at the cancellation but the lack of preparation for a well advertised event and lack of compensation/alternative. It certainly meant the first few days of the trip were lacking in the wow factor.
On the way up to the bay, as mentioned before, we stopp for a toilet break at the Parry Kauri Park. This is an 800 year old kauri pine – one of the *very* few to survive the enthusiastic clearing by settlers:
Of course, New Zealanders are very proud of these clearances and the timber industry so we had to go to a museum celebrating them. The museum was well done, with plenty of diaoramas illustrating life in the period:
Lots of heavy machinery (boring) and some sculptures:
As mentioned before, one of the few highlights was the talk at the Waitangi Treat grounds. Here is our charming, talented guide:
Interior flax weaving/visual history record inside the Maori meeting house, and the carving on the front:
On the (very dull) drive from Auckland to Rotorua we stopped at yet another non-exciting ‘highlight’ (though Doug loved it and it was enjoyable enough) at Glenbrook Raily Museum with the obligatory steam engine ride and a quite tasty morning tea:
And in the afternoon, we stopped at Paradise Valley Springs which is a trout farm and animal park. Frankly it was crap. We had a guide who didn’t know much about native animals, spoke too fast, raced ahead leaving slow walkers and those in wheel chairs trailing behind, and when asked what this bird was, she said ‘a finch’. Well, d’uh:
While it does breed introduced trout, it doesn’t breed the endangered native kea, so a miserable group of three birds were non-breeding:
They have a vast collection of domestic and feral animals, and this fern walk to display them:
Which looks pretty but was bloody uncomfortable for wheelchairs and their pushers.
They do have lions cubs for you to pet (which I did, and they don’t feel like kitties at all):
But essentially this was an overrated toilet break that just added to the sense of ‘meh’ in the group.
However, when we got to Rotorua, things began to pick up dramatically 🙂 See the next post!