Travelog for: Shane

Hi Mum
Today we drove up Mount Macedon and had a look at the lake at the top - the reflections were beautiful.



Love and hugs

Shane
xx00xx

Hi Mum,

Today we said out goodbyes to Bubblegum, he is off travelling again -this time to South Africa!!




Love and hugs
Shane
xxooxx

PS Tomorrow we are off to New Zealand, will be back on the 22nd Jan. 

Hi Mum,

Today we are off to New Zealand!! 




we are ready to board the plane

on our way now!

More soon,

Love and hugs
Shane
xxooxx

Hi Mum,

We landed safely in New Zealand, picked up the bag and went to get the hire car, then headed off down the motorway.

Hi Mum

On our way we stopped at Paeroa a little town that is famous for it's big bottle.


Lemon and Paeroa is a drink "World Famous in New Zealand" that was made by combining lemon juice with the local mineral water - it is now made by the Coca-Cola company. This bottle is a favourite photo stop! 

This was the park with the big bottle

On the way out of Paeroa we stopped at another park by the river
and had a look at the swing bridge

this is a busy place lots of people come here to picnic by the river or to go bush walking, there are alot of tracks and old mining sites and you can walk along the old railway line and through a tunnel.

Love and hugs
Shane
xxooxx

Another stop on our trip Mum....Waihi is an old gold mining town and a few years ago another mine was opened up. The Martha Mine was the one we had a look at.


It is a long way down there!! 


Sue thinks this is the old cooling tower - it was moved from the old mine site to here so people could see it near the new mine.

Love and hugs

Shane
xxooxx

Hi Mum,

We found this wonderful water fall between Paeroa and Waihi



It was lovely and peaceful here




Love and hugs
Shane
xxooxx

Hi Mum,

Today we had a drive around a bit of Tauranga

SchokoCookie and I had a look at this Maori Canoe - it is used on special days and for ceremonial occasions

this sign told us all about the carvings next to it

I liked this one!
More soon

Love and hugs
Shane
xxooxx

Hi Mum,

This afternoon we went on a drive to Mount Maunganui - last October a container ship called the Rena ran aground on a reef 20km off the coast and since then oil, containers and  contents of containers has been washing ashore. But today it was beautiful

Here I am at Pilot Bay on the harbour side of Mount Maunganui


here we are on the ocean side of Mount Maunganui


Love this beach Mum, it goes for miles and Miles!!

Love and hugs

Shane
xxooxx

Hi Mum,

We went for a walk after dinner down to the beach and around the block - we could see Mount Maunganui from where we walked to.




Ahhh...I think Toto is trying to push me off the table!!

Love and hugs

Shane
xxooxx

Hi Mum,

Today we had a ride on the harbour in a boat

it was a bit windy and choppy but not too bad



In the afternoon we went to a friends place and from the house had a really nice view of the beach and the harbour


Love and hugs

Shane
xxooxx

Hi Mum,

Today we had a big drive to Rotorua. Our first stop was at Rainbow Springs

we had a ride on a moa a flightless huge bird that has been extinct for a long time.

up on the perch is a kaka - a NZ parrot

next we went under water to look at the trout


this is a baby tuatara they are reptiles and the adults can go for 6 months with out eating and 1 hour without blinking!!   Not very exciting to watch Mum, but the babies moved around quite a lot.

we had a little rest by the waterfall

this was the only kiwi we could take a photo of, the kiwi are nocturnal and don't like bright light.

Now I am in the government gardens in Rotorua Mum - this building used to be the baths where people came to bathe in the hot mineral waters for their health

Behind us is the natural spring where the water comes from for the baths - it is 212 degrees Fahrenheit and 100 degrees Celsius. I didn't want to fall in there Mum!! 

This carving is near the memorial for the Maori men who went off to fight in WW1

Here we are sitting by Lake Rotorua


You have to be very careful here and stay on the path, the earth crust is thin here and changes so you can fall through and get a bad burn from the hot water underneath. The yellow rock is caused by the sulphur and smells like rotten eggs 


On the way home we stopped at the big Kiwifruit at Te Puke for a quick look

Early night for us tonight it has been a busy day!!

Love and hugs
Shane
xxooxx

Hi Mum,

Today we had a look at the beach Sue used to go to when she was little




Love and hugs
Shane
xxooxx

Hi Mum,
Today we are driving back to Auckland - we had a break at the beach here


Ohhh...Mum...if only there was time to have a surfing lesson!! 


I like this beach Mum 

Love and hugs
Shane
xxoxx

Hi Mum,

Today we had a look around Auckland - here we are near the Harbour bridge

Sue did a bridge climb here a few years ago

we had a look at the marina and the boats
then went to cafe for a cuppa


Next we went to the Sky Tower in the lower level there is a shop selling Weta Workshop.

I had a photo taken with Gollom from Lord of the Rings! 
Now we are up the tower

we could look right down to the road through this glass 





Tonight we had dinner at the Cock and Bull and English style pub



Love and hugs
Shane
xxooxx