Half Around The World In 80 Days

From Auckland I now head south east towards the heart of the North Island with Rotorua as my ultimate destination. En route I pass through lush farm land and out of the corner of my eye I spot a farmer out in a field with an ancient hay turner which brings me back to my Kerry childhood. The Vicon Lely was one of the most troublesome pieces of garbage to ever pass a farm gate in Ireland and a conversation with the man baling the silage here confirms that it works no better in New Zealand. The driver is a fountain of information and his hi-tech computerised round baler has me in awe.

Tractor Driver Extraordinaire Beau Williams with his rig.

This part of the country around Te Puke calls itself the 'Kiwifruit Capital of the World' and I get to see the world's biggest example at Kiwifruit World where it dominates the horizon. Arriving after hours I have to scale the security fencing to get in, but the less said about that the better !

Is it a Kiwifruit or a green kidney ??

Rotorua is famous for its volcanic activity with boiling mud pools and geysers abounding. The air in the city is pungent with sulphur, to some people this reminds them of rotten eggs but for me it is redolent of pig slurry which I spread on the fields of Kerry in times gone by.

There are a number of Thermal Parks around the city where nature can be seen at its furious best. Some of the geysers are now closely controlled for the benefit of tourists. The Lady Knox geyser is set off at 10.15am every day by pouring a kilogram of soap down its neck with the geyser springing to life five minutes later. Rumour has it that drunken local revellers sometimes set it off in the middle of the night which can cause some embarrassment to the guide trying to get it going again at 10.15.

Pat blows his top at the Lady Knox geyser.

Multicoloured edge of The Champagne Pool in Wai-O-Tapu thermal reserve. The water here is at 98°C.

Boiling Mud Pool at Wai-O-Tapu

Nature harnessed. The steam collection field of a geothermal power plant near Taupo.

Aside from the wonders of nature, Rotorua shares the New Zealand obsession with devising bizarre outdoor activities and sports. 'Zorbing' is unique to Rotorua and involves climbing into a large inflatable sphere of about 3 metres in diameter, being driven to the top of a hill on a truck where you are released to slide and bounce your way back to where you started. For greater thrills you can have a bucket of icy water thrown into the ball for added cooling and lubrication. This was good fun, but over very quickly.

Pat 'has a ball' rolling down the hill in his Zorb

Inside the Zorb. It's difficult to maintain a straight face under the circumstances.

Many visitors come to Rotorua to soak in the mineral waters which bubble from the ground. I sample this at the Polynesian Spa where the acidic and basic water are very soothing to tired muscles. The pools are available at a variety of temperatures; the hottest one claims to be 46°C which I find unbearable. When driving in the countryside the next day I pass by the ominously titled Kerosene Creek which is a warm outdoor stream, which looks very inviting. It is lovely to sit in one of its large natural pools with a hot waterfall cascading over my head and shoulders.

The last leg of my journey in this rental car brought me back north to Auckland. I must say I was glad to get rid of this banger of a Toyota Corolla. It had 250,000km on the clock and the cv joints rattled in a distressing fashion giving me nightmare visions of being stranded in the back of beyond. Thankfully I made it back to base in one piece.