One of the most fun things we did on this trip was the Rotorua Forest Canopy Tour. We had two excellent guides who took us flying over the tops of the trees, and as a restbite, explained how they are encouraging wildlife back into the forest by eliminating the predators (ferrets, possums and rats). Way way back in time, the birds here had no predators as the only endigenous animals were bats and fur seals! So, because they had plenty of food at ground level, they didn’t need to fly and eventually lost their ability to do so and became perfect targets for predators brought in later by man.
Walking on this rope bridge proved far more troublesome than hanging from your harness over nothing! And, yes, it was pouring with rain but somehow that didn’t seem to matter so much here, except that the Go-Pro camera on Lawrence’s helmet kept steaming up.
In the afternoon, we drove 20 min south to Waiotapu and the hot spring wonderland. The rain continued on and off, which meant photo-taking was a problem, but the range of colours and smells here kept one occupied for several hours. This was a truly alien landscape with solid rivers (horizontal stalagtites), trees coloured red and orange by litchen, and delicate birds wading in 100C water.
« Day 10: To Rotorua via Hobbiton