Retrospective Travel Journal, Day #17
Saturday 14/2, 2009
Thermal activity, here we come! After thinking we could do it the other way around, we end up first going to Wai-O-Tapu and then booking tickets for the Kiwi Encounter at two o’clock. I’m going to let the images from Wai-O-Tapu speak for themselves, let’s just say it was a colourful and smelly experience..:
Mudpool time!
Once we felt we’ve had enough of the bubbling mud, we get back in the car and head for Kiwi Encounter. To my disappointment I realize I’m not allowed to use my camera amongst the kiwis… Inside we see both a day old chick, exhausted and drying out in the hatching machine, and an egg that the little one inside just had managed to pip externally, before going on to the night room where three kiwis fight for our attention. Or, well… they don’t much care for us actually, and we tiptoe around in there to try and catch a glimpse of the elusive creatures without disturbing them. Once back on the outside I get my camera back out and snap some shots of stuffed kiwis and of the pics on the wall – you do what you gotta do to get that shot!
Taking care:
We also notice that Rainbow Springs (where the Kiwi Encounter is located) has some weird toilet signs. Are they sitting down already?
We now have to say goodbye to Triple K, since they are leaving for Napier and then Wellington, while we plan to spend our last few days in NZ not travelling too much by car. (K&K are leaving a few days later than us, so they’ve got time for more driving.) Once they’re on their way, we head back to Treks to see if we can book ourselves a cave adventure at Waitomo for the next morning. Unfortunately the morning trip is already full, and we book the afternoon one instead. This means we don’t need to leave for Waitomo until the next morning, and so we check into Treks again for another night, and then head out for Valentine’s day dinner in Roturoa. We end up at Lewisham’s and have a real nice dinner with scallops and venison and some good wine. A finishes off with a creme brulee, and I steal some of his strawberries and cream:
A very nice evening that we finish off by going down to the lake and then finding an amusing street name: 
Tomorrow it’s cave time!
