We stayed at the Tuck Farmstay Inn, which is about 30 minutes south of the town of Rotorua, and it is a working dairy farm. We stayed five nights and had quite a few adventures.
Road Trip Journal – February 8, 2015 (The Tauranga Area to The Rotorua Area)
Poripori –> Farm Tuck Inn
Adrenalin Forrest on the way. Adults $42. Kids > 1.45m (Brenden made it) $27. Kids > 1.3 m and < 1.45 m $17 (can only do pathways 1, 2). Tim & boys did all 6 pathways. D did 5. 1-3 were fun and easy. 4-5 were hard. 6 was hard and long.
The Tuck Farm Inn was south of Rotorua, but I can’t find it on the map nowBetween Tauranga and Rotorua, we stopped at The Adrenalin Forest. Brenden barely made the height requirement, but that didn’t stop him from completing all six levels with Alex and Tim. I made it through five levels, and that was hard enough for me.Finished the safety briefingAll fun and games through the first 3 levels……although Tim was still the picture of concentrationThese barrels are suspendedGetting a bit higher…This challenge, called the Tarzan Swing, was in level 4 and it was the first one I remember being hard. Looks like Brenden’s enjoying it though……Me? Not so much.“I don’t want to do that one”The ladder up to the first platform on level 5This and the next 2 photos are three of the hardest challenges in Level 6We made it!!!This was our house on the hill at Tuck FarmA view from our houseAnother view from our houseThey milk the cows twice a day, morning and afternoonThe house had a small closet room. Would have been perfect for Andrew! But Brenden claimed it.
Road Trip Journal – February 9, 2015 (The Rotorua Area)
The Redwoods Whakarewarewa Forrest. Free. Mom & boys did blue track, 1 hour easy. T/D/John did the yellow track, 2.5 hours (stopped to watch Te Puia geyser)
We went all the way to New Zealand to see California Redwoods! We spent an afternoon hiking around Redwoods Whakarewarewa Forest, which is one of the few FREE activities around Rotorua. This photo is actually of the bathrooms at the visitors center.Ready for a hikeThis group took the hour long flat “blue” hike, while Tim, John, and I took the two hour “yellow” hike.A view from the “yellow” hike. In the foreground is Te Puia, a thermal reserve including geysers. Behind that is the town of Rotorua, and behind that is a view of Lake Rotorua.A view of Pohutu, the biggest geyser. We waited for about 20-30 minutes hoping to see it erupt, but this was the best we got. Beats paying $50 to go into the park, I suppose.
Road Trip Journal – February 10, 2015 (The Rotorua Area)
Waimangu Volcanic Valley. Booked online 1 day in advance on bookme.com and saved $12/adult. $24/adult, $12/kid. T/D/B – took “more strenuous” Mt. Hazsard track. Incredible geothermal sites throughout the park.
Kuirau Park. Free geothermal park right in the middle of Rotorua. Several hot pools to soak feet in. Boiling mud pools. Steaming vents. Playground. No hiking required.
Dinner at Abracadabra Cafe & Bar. Flavorful food. Tapas. A bit pricey (just like most NZ restaurants). Recommend chicken enchiladas, burrito, lamb salad. Tapas – mushrooms, tortilla soup. Do not recommend spicy steak or fish of the day.
We spent a day visiting Waimangu Volcanic Valley. This wasn’t FREE, but it was well worth it. It was a self-guided walking tour down the valley, and then a bus ride back up. This is the world’s youngest hydrothermal system and is the only one that we know exactly when it was created. On 10 June 1886 Mt. Tarawera erupted.A view down the valley from the top near the visitors’ center.The first major feature we came to was The Southern Crater. Kinda gross looking.First Brenden gets a talking to……then Alex. I figured out later that they were challenged to be engaged and ask me lots of questions about volcanic features. “Hey mom, how hot does this lake get?” “Hey mom, is the water boiling or is that gases coming up?” This went on all day, and it was kinda fun, even though I knew they were put up to it.Brenden thought this looked like bird poop.Frying Pan Lake, the world’s largest hot springOf course Tim had to test the water! Was there ever any doubt that he would? It was hot, you can tell because the lens is all steamed up.This beautiful blue lake is Inferno Crater.A view of Lake Rotomahana which is at the end of the valley (and where our tour would end)Brenden thought this looked like cracked eggs. Smelled like it too, rotten ones.Stopping for lunchThe end of the tour. Waiting for the bus.These next three photos were not taken at Waimangu. They were taken at a public park in Rotorua called Kuirau Park, and access is FREE. There were even a couple pools you could soak your feet in.
Road Trip Journal – February 11, 2015 (The Rotorua Area)
House day. D-sick. Mazzarella cheese making with Kathryn. Feeding Pinky the sow and 12 little piglets. Fresh milk yum.
House day! After a couple days of running around, we decided to spend a full day just hanging out on the farm. This photo was taken during a very heated cherry pit spitting competition.Mozzarella cheese makingIn the photo with John is Kathryn Tuck, the owner of the Farm.Brenden gives it a good stretchNot to be outdone, Alex goes for an even longer stretchThe cheesemakers with their productAfter cheese making, we walked down the road with all of our food scraps to feed Pinky the SowSo, I cannot adequately describe my surprise when we walked up to the pig pen and saw how big Pinky was. She heard us coming and greeted us at the gate and vigorously chewed on the fence until we gave her somthing to eat. We didn’t enter the pen, because she was big and scary, but also because…… she had piglets that were just a few days old. So, she would have been even more aggressive and scary than usual.We just filled her trough and watch her go at it.Tim and the boys even fed her by hand, being very careful not to lose a finger, or a whole hand.Pinky made the most happy smacking eating sounds I’ve ever heardAlex tried to get her to jump up. Her little legs were going and going, but it turns out that pigs can’t jump.A view of our house from down by the dairy shedWouldn’t want to run into these ladies in a dark alleyMac the farm dog. We could always hear him barking away when the cows were coming to or going from the dairy shedSunset reflection over Tuck FarmWhy yes, that IS Tim hanging clothes out to dry
Road Trip Journal – February 12, 2015 (The Rotorua Area)
Another house day. D – drive to Auckland to deal with immigration issues.
Gresham Family Exodus 