riverside location

riverside location
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Hamilton does have some nice spots - there is a lovely riverside walk we can take from our house into town. It was a beautifully sunny day although a bit chilly being the middle of winter here.

Mud pools

Mud pools
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

bubbling pools of mud

mud, mud, glorious mud!

mud, mud, glorious mud!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

these mud pools in Rotorua were great fun to watch - this gentle bubbling away then all of a sudden a frantic spurt of hot mud would sprout up out of the pool!! we kept our distance!

ferrous pool

ferrous pool
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

this pool was full of ferrous salts giving it an almost illuminous green colour! one of the pools in the thermal area of Rotorua

nature

nature
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

robs little arty shots!

silver fern

silver fern
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

at last! - the kiwi symbol

Thermal area

Thermal area
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

smiling despite the stink!

smiling despite the stink!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Wai-o-Tapu thermal area is a fascinating place - full of thermal pools and different colour rocks due to the mineral elements in the water. Lots of sulpher around causing that delightful eggy smell

hot stuff!

hot stuff!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

the champagne pool - the most impressive thermal pool here, was formed by a hydrothermal eruption hundreds of years ago.
Steam rises from all of the pools and the smell of sulpher hangs in the air! nice!

champagne pool

champagne pool
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

the largest pool in the Wai-o-tapu thermal area - with a ledge created by minerals contained in the water - mixture of gold, silver, mercury, sulpher and others. the surface temperature of the pool is 74 degrees - pretty hot!

craters

craters
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

this was taken minutes before rob and i decided to fill the crater and destroy the devils home forever!!!ha ha!!

only kidding!
the craters contain boiling springs and have been formed over hundreds of years by the action of acidic steam rising from the underground water dissolving the ground above.

sulpher mounds

sulpher mounds
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

These mounds looked like large ant-hills! but the colour and smell indicated they were sulpher mounds - cool!

barmy army HQ

barmy army HQ
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

The official barmy army headquarters in Auckland - previously the Team New Zealand boat yard but converted into a large bar filled with big screens for all the Lions fans to watch the rugby matches. The Lions tour has been really big here in New Zealand and we've both been joining in the excitement and watched every match - even all the low-key matches during the week. I am now a converted rugby fan! It was great to meet up with Nathan Ward and his mate Stu on their Lions tour here in New Zealand - they have some amusing video footage! ask Nath!

The Lions fans getting into the spirit

The Lions fans getting into the spirit
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Dizz, being a fervent rugby supporter was well up for the match with Lions ears and a matching tail to show allegiance! The whole place was packed making any bar or loo trips almost impossible. We arrived about 4hrs before the match started to soak up the atmosphere and make sure we got some pies before finding a prime location to watch the big screens. There were local bands playing as part of the warm up to the match lifting our spirits.

James, Dizz, and Sarah

James, Dizz, and Sarah
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

barmy army HQ invaded!

barmy army HQ invaded!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Our spirits were crushed at losing the 3rd and final test match of the LIons tour. worse still, was the fact that the All Blacks fans decided to descend on the Barmy army HQ so we werent able to drown our sorrows in quiet!
we made a sharp exit to an Italian restaurant out of town.

Mount Ruapehu 2

Mount Ruapehu 2
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Mount Taranaki

Mount Taranaki
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Mount Ruapehu is one of the volcanos on the island, mount taranaki is right over on the west coast but could be seen on a clear day.

The chairlift

The chairlift
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Once we arrived we were joined by our friends Brad and Haze. They came skiing to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary - not a bad precedent to set for us newly weds.

Mount Ruapehu

Mount Ruapehu
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

So at long last, after all the talk about 'when we're in New Zealand we'll be able to ski at the weekends' it finally happens.

If you've watched The Return of the King, you may recognise this mountain. Ok, it's a bit hard at the moment given the lack of fire and lava, exhausted hobbits and ring obsessed Smeagols - but this is in fact MOUNT DOOM.

Fortunately our day was wonderfully sunny, with some good snow and no interuptions from Orcs or the evil Lord Sauron.

It is quite early on in the season here, so not all the slopes are open until there has been a bit more snow. But it was great, an early start to leave the house at 05.30 to get to the slopes for 09.00.

Fieldays

Fieldays
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

This is Rob, myself, and Mat - our new friend from church here in Hamilton. Mat is from Southampton spending 12months in Hamilton working in the church we attend. He's a really lovely, fun guy and we've spent quite a lot of time hanging out together. we dragged him along to this agricultural event which is the biggest event that happens in Hamilton and since it is quite a hilly billy place, it's pretty popular here!
it poured all day so we spent most of the time dodging the puddles and mud! for those of you who have been to new wine/soul survivor it had a striking resemblance to that but without the God stuff. we did manage to pick up a few freebies in some of the marquees which kept me quiet for a bit!

Someone didn't want to go

Someone didn't want to go
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

a very wet day and what did we decide to do? go to the biggest agricultural event in the southern hemispheres. you may ask why? - dont know - it was Robs idea!!!
i spent most of the time either asking for a coffee or for us to go home!

But look, they have chainsaw competitions!

But look, they have chainsaw competitions!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Mat and Rob in the pouring rain (boy did it rain that day!) watching the chainsaw competition.
it was a relay race between two teams with both sides and the spectators getting really serious about who could saw through wood the fastest! its very amusing to see what excites people.

Things you expect to see

Things you expect to see
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

loads of tractors!!
of course, something of great interest to city slickers like us!! we were impressed to see that UK tractors seem to do it bigger and better.

And some wierd stuff too

And some wierd stuff too
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Maybe now i'll fit in with the locals.

Maybe now i'll fit in with the locals.
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.