More from New Zealand

OK Adrian asked if I had any more to share:
First pic, looking West, gives you an idea of the terrain and incline you encounter if you climb Mt Ngauruhoe. Second comes the view from beside the Red Crater of Mt Tongariro looking North over North Crater lava flow and the Blue Lake (sacred to the Maori, so swimming not allowed).
If you visit Taupo, then I recommend the following: take your trunks and a towel, and after a bungy jump at Taupobungy (out of town a short way on Spa Road - and you gotta ask them to set it up so you dunk into the Waikato River ), carry on just a bit to the turn to the Huka Falls walk. Park your car if you have one, start walking and you come to a spot where a hot spring joins the river. Have a good soak (pic 3). Then walk just a bit further, and dive off rocks into the river, at a point where it is deep and very slow moving (pic 4 - hot spring in the distance). Walk on to the dramatic Huka Falls (that's my middle son, pic 5), and on your return, have another swim and soak

fiddler

 

OMG.....this make me want to travel ASAP already...

 

the second pic is breathtaking!

 

Seeing as I live in NZ, I can safely say that quite a bit of the scenery is that good. And to think I moved from a small town with nice scenery to a vity, with concrete scenery.

 

Thanks for the compliments peaz I feel a bit embarrassed when I see some of the smashing photos you and Chai and others display here and I can't even get the camera level (Adrian did tell me to post shots here, honest ).
Anyway, apparently the Blue Lake is a "volcanic vent". You'll have to ask a volcanologist what the difference is between that and a crater. I did a bit of searching to find out but didn't get far. But I did find some more terrific shots of the Tongariro region at http://www.tobias-thierer.de/nzpics.html. It is indeed an awesome place.

fiddler

 

Oh wow! Stunning! ^_^

 

Adrian, I believe canoes/kayaks do negotiate the Falls! But only for experts, as it is dangerous - if you don't propel yourself hard at the last moment, you can end up in an underwater eddy I was told No commercial whitewater operation there as far as I know.
BTW, the water level is controlled, and that photo was taken at a time when it was pretty low (hence our earlier bungy jump was 49m, compared to the usual 47m or so) When we had the return dip in the hot springs, it was already a foot higher and rising.
fiddler