1954 De Havellin - Otter

I am a lot happier with my bike. Yesterday I gave it a good going over and sorted the brakes and the gears. I also bought some Viking lube and she went like a baby. Had a really interesting ride down by Lake Rotorua and saw the thermals steaming out of the ground. In the afternoon went mountain biking in the Redwood forest and went hairing down the Turkish Delight trail. This was a single track with lots of jumps and tree roots... it was great and the bike dealt with it no bother.
Thermal at Orakei Korako

In the evening I went on one of those cultural thingys. This was at a Maori village and they took us on a walk through the rain forest and showed us some of their culture including a show of them in their traditional canoes and a re-enactment of a traditional village with singing, dancing and chants. Luckily, they didn´t take themselves too seriously and their were some good jokes. Then it was a éat as much as you can traditional meal.
I have to admit that when I was a kid i was a Biggles fan... still am in fact. So when I saw a float plane sitting on the lake I enquired further. The upshot being a trip from Rotorua lake over the volcanoes and moutains to a river landing and then a ferry to Orakei Korako thermal park with huge areas of steaming thermal vents and water. Also a lot of boiling mud. It is a very active thermal area which has experienced many volcanoes including a huge eruption in 1886 which vaporised a lake and covered three Maori villages! The flight was awesome with the pilot in full view using 1950ś equipment to get there and back.

Orakei Korako

Tomorrow it is back on the road to Lake Tapu.