Hawkes Bay and Rotorua

After a leisurely wake-up (some went jogging, others stayed in bed a bit longer), we headed towards Napier. We had originally planned a hike to a gannet colony at Cape Kidnappers. Unfortunately, the trail to get there is currently closed, so we booked a tour to see the birds instead. Since we had some time left and passed by a winery with tastings, we stopped there. 6 wine glasses later (only tasting portions), we made our way to the tour office. There, we boarded a 4x4 bus. We traveled through private farmland along the coast to Cape Kidnappers. Along the way, we received a lot of information about the region, agriculture, and geology. After about an hour, we arrived at the gannets. We were able to get very close to the colony, only a few meters away. The young birds were about to leave the mainland and were diligently practicing their wing beats on the ground. The animals were very fascinating but smelled awful. We really enjoyed the tour.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in Hawkes Bay, where our campsite was also located.

Our next stop was a viewpoint at Lake Taupo. First, we took a phone break because the night before, we had learned that French Polynesia (our next destination) now required a health certificate due to the coronavirus. However, since the information on the various websites was contradictory, we wanted to ask Air New Zealand. Since we were not the only ones with questions about our travels, it took almost an hour to get a response. Not much wiser, we continued to the Huka Falls. There, massive amounts of water plunge down a narrow passage in the river. Afterwards, we went to the Craters of the Moon. During a walk, we observed sulfur fumes emanating from the ground. Later, we went to the Wai O Tapu Geo-Park. There, we saw colorful "Champagne Pools," water basins where gas rises, making them look like sparkling champagne. The path also led past bubbling mud pools and bright green lakes. When we arrived in Rotorua, we actually wanted to visit a geyser. However, they wanted 70 Swiss francs for admission, so we decided to continue to the campsite. There, we could take kayaks for free and paddle up the river.