TAURANGA, NZ  the population center of  THE BAY OF PLENTY (32nd day of our journey)

OUT OF THE DARKNESS COMES LIGHT

What a pleasure this morning to see land! Finally after all of those days at sea...

The ship docked at 8:30 am and by 9 we were exploring the town center. From what we hear this seaside community claims to be one of the countries sunniest towns and today we enjoyed perfect weather. Mt. Maungonui ( rises 761 ft above sea level) the regions geological icon sits in the center of this "tidy" town. We took a nice stroll around the base and got to see some beautiful sights, this is one of the best swimming and surfing areas in NZ.

After lunch we boarded a bus and rode 1 & 1/2  hrs. to Rotorua, a geothermal wonderland . A world sculpted by volcanos. The whole area is steeped in Maori history & legend. Where ever you look the earth bubbles, boils, ad oozes with the rotten egg smell of hydrogen sulfide in the air.

The whole area is full of MAOURI history, back to the 14th century, and legend.
Below is a close upon a MAOURI KINGS face while he was performing one of the tribes welcoming dances. They used extreme facial expressions to intimidate others..

Woody dancing with the MAOURIS

There are many more pictures of mud pools and dancing but I think that is enough for now. Tangranga NZ is a beautiful place. The people believe that they are "lucky" to be living there and they act that way!

WE HAD A WONDERFUL DAY