Rotarua and Hobbiton

Flying overnight from Cairns to Auckland may have been the lowpoint for Sara on this trip. She didn't sleep at all, but got to watch How to Train your Dragon which was surprisingly entertaining.

We have 3 days on the North Island, not nearly enough, but wanted to spend the bulk of our time on the South Island.

First stop on the North: Geothermal hot spots known as Rotarua. We only saw a portion of them which was too much for Andrew. He could not stand the sulfuric smell, and he told us so the whole time we were in the geothermal park Waiotapu - one and a half hours. It was worth the complaining. The steam, bubbling mud, colorful pools, and strange smells were an amazingly unusual assault to our senses. Our own trivia monger, Jaron, told us that there are only 4 places in the world with geothermal activity this close to the surface. Lucky us, right Andrew? We didn't get as many photos as we would have wished, our camera's battery died in the middle.

Approriate faces for the smell

The Champagne pool

The Drive home from Rotarua was very rural and scenic. We drove through Hobbiton, aka Matamata, New Zealand. Our families LOTR geek (aka Sara), wanted to take a tour of the Shire and the Hobbit holes, but it was too late in the day, and apparently the asking price is $50 each. The vandalized Gollum statue and sign were enough this time.

My precccious