Rotorua

Arrived in the thermal and hot spar centre of North Island today and thereś a slight niff of sulphur in the air. The original plan was to take the bus north to Brywryden and cycle a loop around to the Bay of Islands with a possible stop off for a jaunt up to Cape Reinga. It had been a bit frustrating up until today, because my bike didn´t arrive until the day after me and then it needed repairs and a good service. All the delays were to my benefit in the end because Northland and Coromandal have experience some heavy rainfall and are flooded. So a quick re-think and I decided to head south and I will keep going in that direction for the next wee while. It is all to the good, because it is Autumn here and the south will be getting colder. So if I do that first, I can come back up north and see the places I meant to see and it will still be warm up there.
I have to admit that Iḿ wondering if bringing the hybrid bike was a good idea. The back wheel is a bit dodgy and the back brake is a bit temperamental.  With the two panniers on and the back pack it is pretty heavy going up some of the big hills... so maybe i will try to avoid those ha ha. The other thing is that the small cog for going up the big hills is a bit ify too, but whose complaining.
Tomorrow should see me taking a dip in the hot muddy pools around here and taking in a bit of Maori culture. Apparently they cook food in a covered pit on top of hot stones... sounds good to me. Here are some photos of Auckland.