Cape Reinga is the most northerly point of North Island that is accessible by road, and it is a special place in the Maori culture - the place where the spirits of the dead depart

We walk to the dramatically perched Cape Reinga lighthouse and admire the magnificent seascape - before us is the meeting place of the Tasman  Sea and the swirling currents of the Pacific Ocean. Our next stopping point, the Ancient Kauri Kingdom, is reached by driving on a stretch of Highway 1, New Zealand's principal road that runs the full length of both islands

The Ancient Kauri Kingdom is a defunct dairy factory now operating as a sawmill, cutting and shaping huge peat-preserved kauri logs hauled out of swamps where they have laid for between 30,000 and 50,000 years. Our next stop is at the Paketi Kauri Forest where a short walk takes us through several fine example of the huge kauri trees

The coach gets us back to Cook's Lookout Motel at 6:20pm.

We then walk to the Haruru Falls to get another view of the impressive waterfall

 

 

Despite our poor accommodation, we have enjoyed visiting this northern part of North Island, and

depart Paihia on a sunny morning for a long drive south - our destination being Malones Motel in Rotorua

After having driven 150-kilometres we reach Wellsford at 10:15am and again use Peppers Cafe to get coffee (free refills) and slices of toast. There is heavy traffic in Auckland as we use the Harbour Bridge to continue through Gordonton and Cambridge. We reach Rotorua at 3:45pm having driven 471-kilometres

Malones Motel has a very pleasant, well-maintained appearance and is colourfully decorated with hanging baskets, rose bushes, etc. We have a large room that is well-equipped including a fridge and a microwave; the bathroom has a huge spa bath. The proprietors are very helpful and even offer to do our laundry for a nominal charge. They book us for a tour of a Maori village that includes a hangi meal. The Tamaki Tours' bus collects us from the motel at 5:15pm

After pick-ups at various hotels, we pay for our tickets at an office adjacent to a tropical garden (above) that we are able to explore before being transported to the Maori Village

A ceremony commences at the village with a challenge by a warrior and other ritual protocols. We then tour the village where there are demonstrations of typical activities, before we see an indoor concert that includes a performance of the Hakka (left).

Our meal (the hangi is prepared by steaming the meat and vegetables using hot stones buried in a pit) is delicious and consists of lamb, chicken, mussels, carrots, sweet potatoes, and coleslaw. Dessert is steam pudding and custard. There is plenty of food available from a buffet table, and second helping are encouraged. A sing-song ends the evening and there is more singing on the bus back to the motel

 

After leaving two lots of laundry with Neil (the motel's proprietor) we fill our ice box (it transpires that this is the only hotel on our entire trip that has this facility for guests) and drive to the Wai-O-Tapu Wonderland, an active geothermal area at the southern end of the Okataina Volcanic Centre, just north of the Reporoa caldera, in New Zealand's Taupo Volcanic Zone. It is 27-kilometres south of Rotorua. On arrival, we join a large number of spectators for an induced eruption of the Lady Knox Geyser

A ranger ignominiously inserts soap flakes to start the geyser's eruption - the soap flakes reducing the water's surface tension and releasing a 10-metre jet of superheated steam.

 

In the Geyser Cafe at the nearby visitor centre we have cappuccinos and muffins - the latter are excellent, more like fairy cakes with apricots.

 

We then walk the 3-kilometre route of the thermal area that passes some twenty-five named features

(left) Primrose Terrace

 

(below right)

Devil's Ink Pots