NEW ZEALAND 5
After deciding that we had enough of a soaking for one day we headed back to Rick & Lyndsey's for dinner and more wine............

The following day was nice, if a little windy, so we ventured back into Wellington to see some more sights. We noticed that there was a cable car built in 1902 that took you up to the top of the hill to the Botanical Gardens so we headed for it. Then it gets tricky - we spent around 1/2 and hour within 2 minutes of the cable car entrance but without being able to get to it - the one way system confusing us entirely. Eventually we gave in and "dumped" the bike - it's foreign no one will bother giving us a ticket. The cable car was good fun and rather steep.
The view from the top was amazing.
Next, Napier - home of Art Deco buildings although we found them hard to find. Took a quick ride round in the afternoon as we only planned one night here.
Presumably the Masonic Hall - do they have Masons in NZ ?
The cinema
Leaving again in the rain - the waterproofs haven't seen so much use. We stopped at a Vineyard on the way to Rotorua only to find that the did not do tours at this time of the year - ah well. The wine was expensive too so a total waste of time........

Rotorua is famous for all it's geysers, hot springs and mud pools. It is nicknamed "Sulphur City" and it is very apt. The air was constantly tinged with the smell of sulphur - and for once Cliff had nothing to do with it ! The holiday park that we stopped in had it very own springs - the hotest being around 40oc. The following morning we went for the tour of the geysers, the largest of which did not erupt whilst we were there but there were plenty of others to see.

Mud, mud, glorious mud...........
The:Prince of Wales geyser
Steam rising from the ground
The tour ended with a "show" by some local Maori people consisting of signing and dancing..........and, of course, the Haka.
The Cheif "Welcomes" us into the Maori complex

Below - typical carvings on their buildings - the tongue out design is meant to scare their enemies
After a quick overnight stop on the way North we got to Ninety Mile Beach.
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