and Mt. Ngaurahoe, known as Mt. Doom to Lord of the Rings fans. We skirted Taupo and Rotorua and the lakes they sit next to. Rotorua has a distinct eggy odor from the volcanic activity underneath.
We briefly stopped at Huka Falls where all of Lake Taupo squeezes into New Zealand’s longest river, the Waikato. As you can see, it’s quite a pinch. Lots of tourist snapping pictures. We took a short hike to look at falls from several different angles.
Stopped at the Honey Hive for honey ice cream. New Zealand is a major honey producer and consumer.
We reached Papamoa Beach Holiday Park on the Bay of Plenty late in the afternoon. The kids went directly to the playground jumping pillow—a 30 x 50 foot inflatible rubber pillow. It pays to be the heaviest jumper. Ivy was nearly launched into the cabbage trees when I tried to do a front flip.
Papamoa Beach is long, white, sandy, and quiet. We backed our campervans to the edge of the bluff overlooking the beach and had great views of the surf and, at night, the stars.
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