The Great Kiwi Road Trip Day 2-4: Blenheim-Cambridge

​To see the bits of New Zealand we have yet to see requires a fair bit of driving with little sightseeing, but featuring instead, catch-ups with some of our favourite friends in New Zealand. Our ultimate mission is to explore the North Island.
Getting to the North Island by ferry, there are two choices. If you are with a family, Bluebridge is the best option. The boat has an excellent, albeit stuffy family play area with free movies, but if you need fresh air you can wander to the panoramic heli-pad observation deck, which on this trip afforded beautiful sunny views of the Marlborough Sounds, Cook Straight, and Wellington Harbour, but this area is sure to play havoc with your well quaffed hair-do, see pictures of Brynn and Aurora inset. Our goal today was to make tracks for a planned rendez-vous with Rupert and Kelly our couchsurfing friends from way back, who had recently migrated to Cambridge from Australia. We made it as far as Mt. Lees Reserve Campsite, near Sanson, a beautiful free/donation campground, with flush toilets!  Here we survived our first night of camping as a family of five with a little help from YouTube, and Peppa Pig.

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We had glorious weather up to Cambridge, 31°C and sunshine, and the middle of the North Island is one of my favourite spots in the world. The beautiful desert road that rolls past Mt. Ruapehu, and the ominous Mt. Nguarahoe (LOTR’s Mt. Doom) surrounded by volcanic wasteland, this area is also host to vibrant geothermal activity. It is an area rich in scenery and experiences. My absolute favourite of these is visiting one of the many natural hot pools in the area. Having never been to the Taupo Spa Park, this becomes our choice. The cool Waikato River funnels out of Lake Taupo to the East, and along the banks of the Spa Park. Piping hot water bubbles up from underground, and cascades down in two small waterfalls into a grotto along the southern bank of the river. It is a popular “hot-spot” for locals and tourists alike, and if you get too hot in the pools, you can quickly cool off in the stream.  This is the ultimate hot tub experience, only slightly soured by the hordes of visitors. But then you just have to think, how many places are there like this in the world? Where else can you go swimming in a beautiful river, and relax in an Eden like hot pool, free of charge?  Upon thinking this, bliss returns.
Our day is capped by a beautiful lasagne dinner, and for me, beer sampling - courtesy of our good friends Rupert and Kelly at their beautiful home in Cambridge. I even got to sample one of Rupert’s “Beer Advent Calendar” beers, quite possibly the best Christmas gift ever! These are not tiny 330ml bottles of generic lager, but at least 500ml of quality craft beer greatness #jealous. A lovely Wheat Ale from Stoke Brewery. 

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