Coming Up Close

Nights are much colder, maybe it's time for an extra blanket on the bed and sweatshirts to come out of storage. The photo above shows how the skies are becoming darker as the days go by and the 3 level apartment on the corner opposite the beach reflects the Autumn morning sun. Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

We've had 2 significant cyclones here recently... Cyclone Debbie and Cyclone Cook. So much rain and flooding, thankfully we were ok here. The morning after the latter one had left I decided I'd had enough of cabin fever and got out for a much needed walk. Looks like other people had the same idea - what a morning it was :-) Linking up with Our World Tuesday and Wednesday around the world :-)

Our tiki tour a couple of weeks ago included the Blue and Green Lakes in Rotorua. This place consists of two lakes; Lake Tikitapu and Lake Rotokakahi (above) which are very close to Lake Tarawera . Lake Tikitapu (above) doubles as a camping ground also and is popular over the Summer months. Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Last weekend we ventured out on one of our road trips this time to explore the Karangahake Gorge . Neither of us had actually gone into the area, just driven past. This is a very historical place as the East Coast main trunk railway use to run through here. This section of it includes a walkway/cycleway and a 1100 metre tunnel. As you can see from the above 2 photos the main highway runs to the right which leads to Auckland. We walked through some stunning native scenery, I was looking for fungi and mushrooms but as it wasn't quite wet I could'nt find any. There are also old ruins of abandoned gold mines here which were once used between 1880s and 1950s. This is one of the bridges we crossed, as I am scared of heights the first one we walked over I had to hold my partner's hand - silly isn't it? Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Today...another tiki tour, this time in the opposite direction to Owharoa Waterfalls - about an hour from home. Just off the main highway and before the Karangahake Gorge . Located in between Paeroa and Waihi we found the water was very heavy most likely from all the rain we had last week. I even managed to get a photo of a couple of tourists getting their photos taken in front of the waterfall. Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

Last weekend on our road trip through Rotorua we stopped at the Ohinemutu Cemetery - a very respected resting place for soldiers who served in the 28th (Maori) Battalion during the 2nd World War. Such a peaceful spot but I was disappointed to see the shores of the lake polluted with rubbish  here and there - sad that people can't dispose of their leftovers the right way. Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

While tiki touring around on Sunday we decided a road trip to Rotorua was a good idea. As alot of you know I grew up in Auckland, then lived in Northland for 20 years so I'm not from this region, it's been many years since I visited Rotorua, probably not since I was a child. We persuaded my 18 year old daughter to get out of the house and come with us. One place we stopped at was Waiotapu Geothermal Pools . Most of Rotorua is Geothermal - meaning here and there are hot springs and bubbling pools. The geothermal area covers 18 kilometres and is protected as a scenic reserve. Waiotapu is the Maori word for "sacred waters". It is so hot that the whole area is fenced off. Prior to European occupation the land was the home of the Ngati Whaoa tribe. Linking up with Our World Tuesday , Outdoors Wednesday and Wednesday around the world :-)