22 Mar & 23 Mar – Days 4 & 5

Day 4 – Friday, March 22: Land Tour starts with welcome dinner at the Rydges Auckland Hotel

We had a wonderful 3 course meal with a couple from Australia, Lorraine and Graham, and a British couple, Deidra and Graham. Both couples are very nice and we had a lovely visit with them. We are enjoying meeting people from all over the world and learning about their lives and their countries.

Day 5 – Saturday, March 23: Leave Auckland to Waitomo to Rotorua

On the coach from Auckland to Rotorua

First coffee or tea stop

Waitomo glowworm caves & boat ride through caves:

Photos are not allowed in the caves. So you’ll just have to come down under to see this. On the way down to the river, we walked through limestone caves covered in stalactites and some of the glowworms could be viewed from this area. Further down was a short boat ride along a river in the caves where there were thousands of glowworms!

New Zealand Maori Arts & Crafts Institute:

Maori Hangi Feast at Te Puia – entertainment and Maori cuisine:



Hotel: Rydges Rotorua

View from our hotel room.

Exploring Rotorua:

Best lunch place for fish and chips and great music on Eat Street.

Eat Street in downtown Rotorua.

Lake Rotorua (Roto means lake, rua means second) is a very shallow lake. The”island” in the middle is the top of the volcano’s crater.

Tourist Center downtown Rotorua.

Government Gardens downtown Rotorua.

Historic Rotorua Museum in the background.

This is a popular Geothermal area so the sulfur smell is very strong!