Here we are in Rotorua – a town lying around the edge of a volcanic lake. Black swans cruise the lake in quantity, going ``bottoms up`` as they feed. The smell of sulphur fills the air. Mmmmmm. Rotorua is situated around volcanic hotsprings. Bubbling gurgling grey mud boils like witches’ cauldrons and sulphurous clouds bellow out from the many fumaroles that dot the area. (Makes for nice thermal baths.)
This morning, we woke up in Thornton, in the Bay of Plenty region, camped almost on the beach. The beach itself is a long 70 km stretch of beautiful shell-strewn sand all the way from Whakatane (pronounced ``Fa-ka-taw-nay``) to the volcanic mount of Manganui .Aside from the funny black sea birds with long red beaks and a few fishing at the river mouth, we have the beach to ourselves. With long rods stuck into the sand they catch sea salmon and snapper, huge nets for scooping up the plankton, whitebait, a pricey delicacy apparently good as fritters.
We had spent a couple of days in Tauranga, the home of Mt. Manganui. – its a tourist town where the surfers are out from dawn til dusk.
The view from atop Mt. Manganui is spectacular, especially at sunset. The locals run up at all hours. Most Kiwis being more than part mountain goat!
Thursday, 13 September
Sitting bundled up in multiple layers of clothing and bedding with the tiny electric heater blasting, doing its best to warm this little tin box, our home on wheels, I can watch the morning sun illuminate Lake Rotorua. Swans and ducks float gracefully this way and that as long boats glide by with up to eight rowers.
Friday, 14 Sept.
Stayed in Napier overnight last night. We had the most beautiful sunrise this morning.
We went into town to view the 1930s art deco architecture. The entire town of Napier was leveled in the 30s by an earthquake and was rebuilt in art deco style.
We decided to overnight again here since we needed to recharge our batteries, and since this is wine country, what better fuel than a nice chardonnay or merlot?
4 comments:
Sorry, internet access is few and far between in NZ, so we appreciate your patience in waiting for our updates and we love your comments.
Thanks for being with us in spirit.
Love, Swan and Robert
Nice pics... Is Rob having a cold one in the back of the van?
Bri
do i ever want to be there! love those views . . . this is really fun ... looking forward to the next installment. .love, San
Regarding small heater in Van, I have found that some kind of fan running full time pointed right at the heater is a good system. With air moving around the space, there are no hot or cold spots, no stagnation of air, and the heater's efforts are instantly spread throughout the area. As well it keeps thing in immediate vicinity of the heater form getting too hot.
This method has been tested in many situations and found to be an amazing improvement over the heater alone, even if the heater has some kind of fan inside it.
Also the fan's thermostat is then relating to the temp throughout the space rather then at its own location.
This method also make a big diff when heating with a wood stove.
Best wishes d/o
Hi guys! The photos look amazing! Too bad you couldn't see the pics I sent to you. Thinking of you lots. Can't wait to see you when you're back.
xo
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