Yet another moving day

Kia ora (Hello in Maori) It is 0635 am Tuesday March 20 here in Rotorua.

Got up early to do this blog as we are falling behind in our blogging. We left Whitianga on the Coromandel Peninsula Sunday am and headed back down Highway 25.

We had hoped to stop at Cathedral Cove and Hot Beach but the weather was cool and sky was cloudy. Naomi and I did not like the thought of travelling potentially wet and sandy for the next 3 hrs or so. We said goodbye to our host Yvonne from Baileys at the Beach Motel with Bob driving and Naomi navigating.  I did not win the best driver today...3 times the wipers were on with no need.

This is the evening sky the night before we left Baileys
Yvonne, our host at Whitianga
Some of the giant cedar hedges that we have come across in our travels 

One of the many one lane bridges we encountered on our travels. There usually is a sign at each end that indicates what lane has the right of way

Posted speed 100 kmh going into a curve

And a slow down sign on the next corner...?

A stretch of road going through a grove of pine trees


The view from a lookout point on the road from Whitianga

The Kiwi bird native to NZ is endangered from many different sources with cars near the top of the list

Naomi trying to capture just how twisty and windy the roads can be....we were always pulling over when safe to do so to let the local drivers go by

Since we did not stop at Cathedral Cove and Hot Beach we decided to treat ourselves to another game of golf, this time at the Lakes golf course close to Rotorua

Long and mostly straight (thankfully) fairways we have come to love on NZ golf courses

Again another tight corner on the golf course...just like the highways!

2 flower shots for the gardeners back in Alberta

Now we are in Rotorua at the Malfroy Inn, our home for the next 2 nights. This is the front courtyard looking out our front door

Geothermally heated pool in the courtyard

And here is the rear courtyard

Our own parking space


This the tropical vegetation around that heated pool. What a contrast to all the cedar and pine trees we saw earlier 

No Naomi! I'm not carrying this home with me!...
Naomi says she knows exactly where she wants to put this in her garden!

I'm going to end this blog here and catch up again when we get to Taupo. We had a full day yesterday and have lots to blog about. Here is a hint; we are now Lugers and Zorbers!

Bye for now

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