Cakelaw's Travel Tales

While in Rotorua, it would be almost criminal not to check out what Rotorua is famous for - its thermal springs.  If you have never been to Rotorua, you need to know that it has a permanent sulphurous smell (ie rotten egg gas) because of all the thermal activity in the surrounding area.  The smell did not  bother me and you soon get used to it, but it's a good thing to know before you arrive.  We stayed at the Sudima Hotel, Lake Rotorua, where you can view thermal activity right outside your front door: The Sudima Hotel accommodation is fairly basic, so if you are looking for 5 star accommodation, this is not it.  However, if you want affordable accommodation close to the action, it could be the place for you.  (The travel agent who booked this New Zealand trip seemed to think that we wanted budget all the way, because we were booked into some very interesting accommodation, especially in Napier - but that's another story.) Next door to the Sudima Hotel is ...

Right now, we can't travel anywhere, so I am finally getting around to doing some armchair travel on my blog.  Two years ago this month, my family went to New Zealand for a vacation.  It was my third trip to New Zealand and their second.   I wanted to take my family to places that they had never been to before that I enjoyed, and one place that I had never been to as I couldn't fit it in on my 2008 trip (yep, that long ago).  Sadly, the family did not like the places that I had enjoyed as much as I did, and I didn't enjoy them as much as a result, but hey, that's the joys of family travel. After a brief stopover in Auckland, on the North Island, we took the bus to Rotorua.  They have a great intercity bus network in New Zealand, and it is a cheap way to see the country side and get from A to B (although not fast). While in Rotorua, we visited the Tamaki Maori Village .  I think it is great to take in some Maori culture while in New Zealand, even if it ...