Welcome to New Zealand! What a beautiful place to be. The plane ride to Auckland took almost 4 hours from Melbourne, but we were on a beautiful plane. Movie screens for each seat, meal service, blanket, pillow and headphones for each seat. The flight attendants looked very exotic with the white scarves of their uniforms trailing down from their caps and swooping around their necks. We were in the middle row of the plane so we weren't able to look out the window as we came into New Zealand.
Once we got our rental car, we started out for the two hour drive to Rotorua. We hadn't gone very far before I saw a sign for a scenic overlook. I had Kyle pull over so we could see some of the landscape from the top of the hill. Breathtaking country! I love all the green and rolling hills. Cattle, sheep and goats can be seen everywhere.
It was a beautiful drive to Rotorua. It was partly cloudy and we would get some sprinkles, and then it would suddenly turn into a downpour, and then just as suddenly it would stop. At one point, we drove through a forest with trees arching over the road. It was enchanting. We got to Rotorua around 6:45. Our room at the motor lodge is two stories with three single beds upstairs and a queen downstairs. It also has a kitchen so we got the kids settled in the room and then went to the grocery store. We will be in Rotorua until Tuesday morning. Then we will stop in Hamilton for a couple of days and then back to Auckland so we can catch our flight early Saturday morning.
On Sunday morning, we attended a ward in Rotorua. It was a very friendly ward and it was the Primary Program for Sacrament Meeting. After church, we went home for lunch then decided to drive around town to see some of the sights. Rotorua is frequently referred to as "Stinky Rotorua" because of the many natural geysers and hot springs in the town. It makes the air smell like boiled Spam, and while it does stink, it is easy to get used to and after a little while you don't notice it. The steam from the geysers can be seen all around. We drove over to the Te Puia geyser to see if we could walk around it. We were able to walk up the trail to get to the main entrance.
This was the archway from the parking lot. There was a couple nice enough to take our picture for us.
Along the walk way to get to the main entrance, you can look over the bridge and see many small vents with steam coming out. The vegetation right around each vent was dead. At one vent, you couldn't see the mud, but you could hear it bubbling and popping.
Looking out from the bridge, you can see steam coming from the bigger vents. This is nowhere near the amount of steam coming from the geyser itself.
These are the two Pou Pou carvings you pass on your walk to the main entrance of the geyser.
Once we got to the main entrance, we found out the price for our family to enter the geyser grounds. Depending on the package we want we can get a tour of the geyser, a Maori cultural show and a meal. There is a Maori village nearby that we could go to and get a different cultural experience so we need to decide what to spend our money on tomorrow.
I should correct that, it was Elder LeGrand Richards, not Franklin D. Richards, who accompanied President Faust when they came to Lubbock. President Richards said he was known in his close circles as "Grandie". He was a little over 5 and a half feet, if I remember his stature correctly. Very sparkley eyes, and like President Faust, full of good humor.
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