One Of Terry's Corners Of the Online World

We had a silly afternoon, but fortunately, it was one without rain. By happenstance while cruising the side streets of the town, we found Jurassic Golf, a mini-golf course with life-sized concrete dinosaurs amidst the 18 hole mini-golf course. The extra attraction was the three or four steaming volcanic vents that decorated the course. They weren't large ones, no bigger than a campfire each, but just the fact that we could play mini-golf while walking around sulphur-yellow lipped fumaroles, was an extra kick. The rain had created a few extra water hazards and half the holes were full of water, but we enjoyed it thoroughly. After that, we did our eighty seventh trip to buy souvenirs, and back to the hotel where I napped for a couple of hours.

Tonight we ate at Cafe Ephesus, a Turkish place. Pretty good stuff. Then it was back to pack for the trip to Napier tomorrow. queen_nephthys is sorting our purchases and writing it all down on a note pad. Sometimes she's a little organised.

The drive to Napier was a little hairy. As far as Lake Taupo the weather was sunny and lovely, then as we drove off the central plateau toward the coast, rain set in. Very uncool. Napier itself was lovely. Art Deco buildings everywhere and friendly people in the coffee shops and restaurants. Our hotel was slightly out of the main drag but the bed was king sized and we had a lemon tree growing outside our room. As usual we spent some money on dumb stuff like shot glasses. Last night we ate at the Hog's Breath Cafe. Giant steaks, yum. The drive back was brighter and we headed up to Huka Falls. At queen_nephthys's insistence, we took the jetboat ride around the river to the falls. It was cold, wet and a total rush of adrenalin. The tip is that if you ride a jetboat, sit at the back. You pull fewer gees on the 360 degree turns and get the best view of things. After that we ate lunch at the Prawn Farm. Using geothermal means to raise the temperature of the water in their ponds, some nutty Kiwis are breeding prawns up here, 100 kilometres or more from the ocean. The taste of the prawns is very mild but not too bad. The mulled wine we drank was good after the hypothermia from the jet boat ride. Hotel room in Taupo is great. Big spa, lovely view of Mt Ruapehu on the balcony and eight or nine tv channels. Tomorrow, back to Auckland, and the next morning at 6 am we fly back to Oz.