Day 2. Driving from Auckland to Taupo

wrong side!
Originally uploaded by claudiaann1.

So the drive is long, about four hours. We left after breakfast and got in the rental car whose steering wheel was on the wrong side, which was seriously weird and hard to get used to. Luckily, we didnt kill anyone or ourselves. Mid-way through the drive we decided to take a detour throuh Rotorua, also known as Sulphur City, whose smell is available miles away. There we picked up lunch and a much needed iTrip for the car. New Zealand music is mainly just American music from a couple years ago. Candlebox, etc. On the road from Rotorua to Taupo we pulled off on a tiny gravel road called Kerosene Creek, thinking we would certainly get killed. Sure enough, a couple of miles down was a place to pull over and walk along the path following a bubbling creek. A couple of hundred yards into the forest is a beautiful waterfall where the temperature of the water is about 102 deg. We climbed in and relaxed there for awhile, it was absolutly perfect. Except a bit smelly perhaps. Then we made our way to the next lodge which is in Acacia Bay on the north shore of Lake Taupo - Chalet Eiger. It is operated by Emil and Hea Min, a Swiss man and his Chinese wife. It is spectacular, so well done. Dad - you would be happy to know each room is fully equipped with lighting key-pads for such moods as "welcome", "relaxing", "sleeping", etc. Hea Min cooked us dinner with the other couple staying here from Ireland. The six of us stayed up late drinking New Zealand wine and discussing all sorts of things including polotics (which wasnt too terrible, though they were certainly convinced it was "all about the oil")