Just a word or two about the Chateau Tongariro. The hotel was built in the first half of the 20th century and is very grand looking if, perhaps, in places a little faded although our room was very nice with a very modern bathroom. The huge public rooms, in-house cinema and three or four restaurants make it a place that families can enjoy. It is obviously a place that the good and great came to in the 1930's and 1940's and has been kept much as it was with modernization where necessary so that you can experience the grandeur that was there with modern comforts. Its position, essentially in the middle of nowhere, is quite striking when you approach it by road. the staff were, as we have found through out or trip so far universally courteous, cheerful and helpful.
We were up around 7.30 a.m. and I dressed and took a short walk outside and managed to get a more or less cloud-free photo of Mount Tongariro. It was a bit chilly but, otherwise a nice morning. I walked up to the National Park Information Center which is a wonderful building with all sorts of information and equipment for hiking in the area. There are many hikes of up to 20 km or more including one which goes right over the mountain and passes by the crater. The area is the largest skiing area in New Zealand and is, I am sure, in the winter, very busy. The Center also has a lot of information about earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, the local wildlife, the history, etc. It also carries stocks of equipment and clothing for those arriving without it. It even supplies locator beacons for those who get lost!!
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| Early morning at Tongariro |
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| Chateau Tongariro |
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| A visitor on the grass outside our hotel room. |
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| Some colorful fungi we found on our short hike. |
After we finished packing, checked out and re-loaded the car we asked at the Information Center about some short hikes to give us a flavor of the area before we moved on to Rotorua. We took the 40 minute 'Ridge Walk' which climbed up to the top of one of the nearby hills for a panoramic view of the area. The walk took us through wooded areas and at the summit areas covered in low growth gorse. Unfortunately, Mount Tongariro did not reveal itself again with this closer view.
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| A stuffed kiwi showing the amazing size of the egg relative to the bird, itself. |
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Two of the predators which have decimated the local bird population, above the possum and below the weasel.
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| The record of a recent eruption in this area |
We descended and then set off for Rotorua. This is a very scenic drive passing lakes and hills with stops for scenic lookouts. After a slight diversion as a result of taking a wrong turn, we arrived at Taupo which is a largish town on a lake of the same name. It was here that we met the first small snag of our trip.
We stopped for lunch at a faux British pub called 'The Ploughmans' on the outskirts of town. We had a great lunch which, for me, included lambs kidneys which i had not had for ages as they are rare as hens' teeth in US. We topped this off with Banoffee Pie and well satisfied went to pay for the meal. None of our credit cards would work and we did not have enough NZ$ in cash. Our cards were perfectly good, we had just used them to check out of our hotel this morning. So, MAC set off for local ATM machines but none of the close-by ones would work also. So, to get out of the place, we paid in US$ which when converted would have given the rather grumpy landlord, substantially more than he was due for the size of the bill. I did not feel that he was at all appreciative that we had overpaid him.
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| The 'Ploughmans' the only slightly sour note on our whole trip. |
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| MAC checking her Facebook status over lunch!! |
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| Even the hassle with the credit cards and over-payment could not wash away the wonderful taste of kidneys for lunch. |
We went into town, soon refilled our coffers at an ATM at a bank which showed that the machine and system at the pub was at fault not us. MAC was all for going back, retrieving our US$ and paying him only what we owed him in NZ$ but we decided against it. Lesson, stay clear of faux English pubs!!
We pressed onward and stopped at the very impressive Huka Falls which rush under a bridge at an enormous rate and are very picturesque.
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| Huka Falls |
Then it was on to a a honey place called Huka Honey Hives.
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| Some bee!!!! |
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| Huka Honey Hives |
Here there were glass enclosed hives where you could see the bees at work. There was also an enormous selection of honey and honey products. We were amazed to see that a smallish pot of Manuka Honey could cost nearly NZ$200!! This honey, especially the high quality ones has a special ingrediant called MGO. MGO stands for methylglyoxal, the naturally occurring compound that makes Manuka honey so special. The honey is graded either by, for example 550+ MGO or a UMF Scale which shows how much of the Manuka is contained in the honey. The higher the number on either scale dictates the quality and the price. Manuka honey has powerful and long lasting antibacterial activity when applied to wounds and broken skin. The manuka honey website cannot, due to NZ health regulations be very specific about the benefist of Manuka Honey but it does say this:
"Clinical studies show it is effective against a wide variety of bacteria including antibiotic-resistant strains.
Manuka honey also has a direct soothing action and stimulates natural repair and healing when applied topically, speeding the healing process and helping to prevent scarring. It has a debriding action to help clear the wound site while protecting the new healthy tissue, and draws excess fluid away while still maintaining a moist, low-pH wound site beneficial for healing."
It is also supposed to be very good for digestive disorders. It is much sought after and the value of it has even caused there to be an outbreak of 'bee rustling' in New Zealand.
From here we moved on the 'Lava Glass' a glass blowing studio by the roadside. Here there were a lot of very beautiful but rather extensive glass objects for sale and the opportunity, for a price to watch the glass blowing and see some larger glass sculptures in the garden. We passed on the viewing and the buying although some of the objects were very beautiful.
Quite soon after we were in Rotorua and at our hotel, The Novotel where we checked in to our lakeside room.
We walked to a local eatery called the 'Lone Star' for dinner. This was not very New Zealandish but they did serve an excellent dinner including a thing called a 'Lassoo of Pork, which turned out to be very good indeed. Most of the restaurants in the vicinity seemed to be, surprisingly, Indian, Italian or Thai. With this done, we retired for the night.
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