Rotorua

What a crazy night! The wind was howling and the rain poured all night long. We actually thought our camper would blow over it was shaking so much! We headed out of Waihi beach early with every intention of a quick drive up to rotorua. After a good half hour on the road we were stopped and informed that a gas truck had overturned 5 miles up the road and the road would be closed to traffic for at least 8 hours. So we had to turn around and found another route entirely! It too was gorgeous, taking us past gorges with waterfalls and farms. Because of our detour we unexpectedly passed through matamata, home to the movie set hobbiton! The tour takes you through how the movie set was created. We seriously wanted to take it but the rain was torrential by this time and passed on it! From there we drove on to a farm experience at the agrodome. We witnessed the sheering of sheep and a lesson in all the different kinds. Our next stop was the thermal spring at lake rotorua. The water was a hot 102F and wonderful despite the continued rain. We could get into 7 different pools, with the best facing the lake with steam rising from the hot water. That was good for several hours of relaxation. A quick Thai dinner where we met a delightful couple and settled into our holiday park for the night!