Brenda's Top n Bottom 6 of North Island

We decided to clump these into just all our North Island stops. It is with mixed emotions of course, that I end this great holiday. It has been so great with far more ups than downs. I am sure we will do an overall review of whole trip when we return, so I will just focus on this part for now.
HIGHLIGHTS
1. Huka falls: This was a great, unplanned stop on our drive to Lake Taupo. We saw a sign and said let’s check it out. There was a 10 min hike to the mysterious falls. We put our boots on and hiked for over 15 min. Neither of us had great expectations for what we’d see. However, when we saw them we were awe-struck. So massive and blue (glacier blue). Well worth the stop.
2. Glow Worm Caves: I hadn’t been in a cave since I was a kid so forgot just how cool they were...all those stalagmites and stalactites. Yet, add to that gently floating in the water looking up to see thousands of glow worm lights, well, that’s awesome.
3. Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland: This place definitely had several unusually stunning thermal anomalies to see. The best part was the various colors and how close one could get to these deadly hot pools of magna-heated liquid.
4. Hangi Mauri dinner experience: they offered quite the spread of varied foods, some of which were traditional hangi food. It was tasty and plentiful. I also liked how they seated people by home country. We got to chat with a nice couple from Ohio and share Left-side driving stories.
5. McLaren Falls Park: This is a truly beautiful place and one could spend days here. We only had hours but spent it well.
6. Morton: that is the little lamb I met in McLaren Park. Just so cute it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside (probably the wool).

DISAPPOINTMENTS
1. Red Rock Thermal Motel: Where to start... first room had bad WiFi, holes in curtains, temp fluctuates in shower, no tissues, and ANTS 🐜 . Once they moved us the WiFi improved but not the shower temp and overall condition of the room.
2. Didn’t see the Kiwi. We had the chance but they were in their house hiding. 😞
3. Te Puia guided tour of their geothermal park: This was a 90 min tour that should have been 30-45 min. We didn’t see as much of the park as we thought and the descriptions were mostly repetitive.
4. First disc golf stop was a bust. We had doubts about it and they proved valid. Not really a playable place after a rain or without a map.
5. Figuring out on the very last day that Google Maps Still worked in airplane mode and I didn’t need to engage my cell data international plan. Fortunately I didn’t need to do it often anyway and the maps and directions proved to be invaluable when used.
6. David didn’t get to see the amazing World Series ⚾️ this year because of our sucky WiFi and because it wasn’t broadcast on NZ tv 📺 obviously. I know he would have really enjoyed it.Read more