Mauri Village and Geothermal Day
It was quite cool overnight but still my first night of something like proper sleep since leaving home and most welcome though only 6 hours.
Miserable weather, dull, misty and continuing rain with no prospect of improvement.
We landed lucky at the Mauri village with an excellent guide and the rain stayed light during our tour. It is odd living in a village environment with random bits of ground emitting steam and dangerous 100C bubbling pools. We had a good morning exploring the site which was very atmospheric with a combination of light rain and steam.
During the tour we were given sweetcorn just lifted from the boiling water as villagers had cooked for years. It was very good.
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| ANZAC memorial arch in memory of villagers lost |
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| crusty volcanic pool |
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| view across site with features and steam from vents |
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| geothermal oven for cooking food |
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| mauri traditions stories, song, dance, performance. Surprisingly excellent. |
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look back exiting geothermal area
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We returned to the RV and moved on to another Geothermal park a little South but decided it looked too busy and bought a good coffee from the kiosk at accompany an omelets that Lynne knocked up in the van before continuing to the afternoon entertainment.
Hell's Gate geo-thermal Mud Bath and Spa
The weather continued wet and we nearly didn't go to the Mud Spa but we were so glad we did. It was fun and physically enjoyable. 20 minutes in the mud bath then as long as you liked in the warm Sulphur spa pools and the cold fresh water plunge pool. Far from our normal thing but we made full use of all and loved it.
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| Mud Bath |
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| View from Sulphur spa pool |
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| Happy faces in the Spa |
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| Cloudy skies and light rain didn't matter |
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| general view |
After a good day in spite of the weather we both felt down in the evening. A mix of extreme tiredness and disappointment at the weather over the last few days. Journeying is more taxing than anticipated.
We found a local Dominoes pizza for our evening meal which left enough for tomorrow's lunch.
10:00pm bed again. We seem to be settling to 07:00 to 22:00.
Statistics: Miles today:39 ; Miles so far: 331 ; Fuel added so far: zero litres ; North Island; Time Zone: UTC +13 New Zealand Daylight Time (NZDT )
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