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Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge-Places-People-Visit 1810

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During our flying visit to New Zealand for

our son’s engagement party in February…

we only visited Auckland.

 

Prior to his October wedding in Auckland we decided

to make the visit worthwhile and more relaxing.

One of our planned destinations was Rotorua

where we heard about and visited

the Whakarewarewa Maori Village.

 

 

While it is a living Maori Village

its geothermal properties are also quite active.

The yellowish bag just right of centre is

a bag of corn cobs cooking in a geothermal pool.

 

The Hobbit Movie Set near Matamata was also

on our destination list and well worth the visit.

 Not far from Matamata and not on our list

of ‘must visits’ was the Hamilton Gardens.

If you have any interest in gardening at all it is well worth a visit.

In October 2014 as part of the 2014 Garden Tourism Awards,

Hamilton Gardens was awarded the prestigious title of

International Garden of the Year.

We only had time to visit the enclosed gardens.

Auckland and a wedding was calling.

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15 thoughts on “Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge-Places-People-Visit 1810”

    • Whakarewarewa Village should be on everyone’s list as it takes in Maori Culture, entertainment, geothermal and lunch. With talk of the newlyweds moving to New Zealand we may have all the more reason to visit New Zealand again.

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      • Thank you Yvette. Our weekend has only around two hour too run. We spent most of Sunday on a visit to Melbourne to see a production of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde…. muusical. Good cast, strong, very strong voices (read loud 🙂 ). However the stage/cast lighting and topic did not do much for me. You may have more of the weekend leeft than we do. Hope all goes well. Newlyweds heading off from LA something Sunday local time. Due back in Melbourne Tuesday morning. No. @ Son is in Yogyakarta for two weeks for a university credit to his course. So not many home to annoy at the moment. 🙂

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      • I would love to see a musical on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde- and it does seem like a topic that would be tough to do well – and without knit picking performances – some topics are truly tougher than others.

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      • A tough topic is right. Never having read the story I was totally unaware….except for the fact that Jekyll and Hyde were one and the same…good and bad. As I mentioned in my previous comment cast on stage were either down, side or back lighting (the back lights were aimed directly in my eyes many times) which put actors faces in shadow. Even though there was a front spotlight it appeared weaker than all other lighting…hence darker faces. Maybe I was tired…know I am this morning.

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      • and maybe the director and stage crew just were off –
        so even though we get tired and get older – ha – we also just know what is below average or even bad.
        and we had food at a Japanese B & b and they brought a chef in to make dinner –
        extra $ of course –
        but the food was just “eh” – it was sauced up too much and was not as “clean” or as simple as we had preferred. That is definitely feedback from us “older folk” who have had so many meals and have refined this and that over the years – and so it was nothing personal – the fish was just soaked in way too much of that dark sauce –
        anyhow, good directing can take an average story and move the crowd –
        whereas when folks leave with complaints – well it is a mix of things- eh?

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      • I think it may have been yours truly or an audience (of performers friends and relatives) that has not seen anything better as there was an (enthusiastic) standing ovation from about eighty percent of the audience. And although MGW did not stand she liked the performance.

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      • well that is a good point
        but…
        majority of opinion does not always mean good quality.
        A popular vote or “group liking” can be from group think – or the mood spreads – or folks do not always know what to look for.
        Or maybe they did not have the lights glare – or they knew the story –
        –

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      • yes – and that makes a difference.
        when I saw Les Mis (well i saw it a bunch of times) but I recall one of the times I saw it I was sobbing when a character died – and it was not from the acting – it was from knowing the book from Hugo’s writing –

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