09.01.2018 - from Taupo to Cooks Beach

First of all, we have a brilliant accommodation in the bay of Cooks Beach with a view of the Pacific. Our hosts, Bruce and Margot, are really nice, laid-back and uncomplicated. They have a rowboat on the beach, a fruit and vegetable garden, and a bunch of delicious avocados that were shaken off the trees by the storm of the last few days.

On the way here, we reached the Wai-O-Tapu thermal area just before Rotorua at around 10:00 am. Early enough to experience the daily eruption of a geyser, which we found out by chance on site. The scenic reserve covers 18 square kilometers and a small part of it can be explored by visitors. It is dotted with collapsed craters, hot and cold lakes, mud pools, and steaming cracks and holes in the earth. The first volcano erupted here about 160,000 years ago, and hydrothermal activity began about 15,000 years ago. It is an event for both the eye and the nose. The colors in individual lakes are very impressive, especially the Champagne Pool and the bright green Devil's Bath.

The landscape we drove through for many hours was not very exciting, heavily used for agriculture and especially livestock farming, intersected by individual cornfields for the production of animal feed.

In Whitianga, we picked up Jana, who had crossed from Auckland to Coromandel by ferry in the morning and chilled at the beach until then. She has quit her flat share room in Auckland and we are very excited that she can show us the next stops on the North Island.

After driving over 5,000 kilometers now, it is certainly a good idea to explore the beaches here and for Jana to do the same and relax on the beach for a while.