DAILY UPDATE #19 – AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND 2018

Tourists being tourists 

We finally did something touristy. So touristy, we had to go in a group. Ugh.

Hobbiton

Surprised? Probably not. These fine folks allowed us to change our reservation due to our flight being changed and we would not have enjoyed any of this tour with the little bit of sleep we got Monday night. Thank you!
Our tour guide was great, and more in that in the full report.

Craters of the moon

Another item found around Taupo. On our drive through today we stopped here to do the lap. Given our set tour time at Hobbiton our walk through the craters was at a constant pace. It is impressive to see the thermal heat from underground creating the sulphuric smelling clouds.
To me they didn’t smell that bad.

I’ll get some pictures up tomorrow when I have time before our flight.

With that done, a few final thoughts on New Zealand:

The portion of North Island we saw are incredible.  We definitely want to return and have sufficient time to explore this country.  The people we met were a pleasure to talk to.  I can’t wait to begin planning for our return trip.