Back through Kawerau and Rotorua

From Whitianga we decided to drive a little longer and go back to Kawerau to Dave’s parent’s house. The drive down the Coromandel on the east side was very scenic and we also passed through many forest plantations. The forest plantations here are highly managed and trees are all pruned at a certain stage. From the road you can see trees all in rows with all of the lower branches removed. The growth is also much more rapid here resulting in a much shorter rotation than at home.

We spent the night at Timo and Carol’s and enjoyed their wonderful wood burning sauna. Bree had a chance to watch TV and Russ and I even managed to get a run around town in together. Kawerau is a nice little town that is just in-between Whakatane (on the coast) and Rotorua (inland). The economy in Kawerau is mainly based on the large paper mill and next time we visit Timo has said he will arrange a tour of the mill for us.

We headed back to Rotorua with the plan being to spend a little more time here and explore some of the mountain bike trails. We found a campsite near the mountain bike trails and it has thermal pools but the downside is the sulphur smell that comes along with them. We spent the first afternoon at the Agrodome so that Bree could pet the farm animals and I could learn more about the sheep breeds used here in New Zealand. The second day clouded over but was perfect weather for mountain bike riding. The mountain
bike area is called the Redwoods (Whakarewarewa Forest) and they have trails from beginner to advanced as well as some excellent walking and hiking trails. The redwoods are introduced but they grown well in this climate and make an impressive forest.

We took one evening and did the tourist thing, going to Tamaki Maori Village which is located outside of town. They have a small replica of a traditional pre-European Maori village and also put on a show and serve a hangi dinner. A hangi is food that is cooked in pits in the ground that are heated with hot rocks and then covered with earth. The taste is unique and the meal was very good. Bree loved the dances and was full of questions. She was suprised when she learned that Maori used to sometimes eatc their enemies. She decided at dinner to only have vegetables even though we explained that this does not happene anymore! The crowd at the event was large (several bus tours) but it was still a great evening and we are gald we took the time (and spent the money) to attend.

There is rain in the forecast again and we have decided the weather does not look suitable for the Tongariro Crossing so we are going to drive closer to Palmerston North to camp for the last few days and do the Tongariro National Park another time.