First port, Tauranga, NZ, we see glow worms.

​Today, Shawna and I go to kayak a lake, see glow worms in a cave, and take a dip in hot springs.  It should be an interesting day.

We drive quite a way through what looks like a tropical forest.

We hopped on a bus for an hour drive across the country side.  Something surprising is NO potholes, not one so far.  Seems they know how to build a road.  My grandfather used to say the secret of a good and long lasting road was the base.  If that is not done correctly then the road would fail.  It seems he was right because the road he worked on over 80 years ago is still great.  Maybe, they have the same idea here.  Still it is a bit strange to ride on the “wrong side” if the road.

There is something interesting in NZ.  They have a very tall “tree fern” .  The fern can be 40 feet tall and if it were not for the top being obviously a fern it you would think they were palm trees.

We arrived at lake Rotoiti and got ready after a short explanation of the days activities and how to kayak then everyone loaded up for the 1 hour paddle across the lake. 

The lake is interesting. It is actually a filled volcano. Yes, we are paddling in a caldera. It is still an active geothermal area.  Not only are there hot springs along the shores in several areas but far more below the surface. Several times as we paddle along we smell sulfur and see bubbles pop up to the surface.  Scientists do not believe the volcano will become dangerous just a source of some heat and a very popular hot spring.​

We were divided into two groups.  One was off to the hot springs.  The other, ours, headed off to see the glow worms.

After we got back, I was surprised how few pictures I took.  It was a long paddle and we were having to work at keeping up with our guide so maybe not that surprising.
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When we arrived at the cave, it was almost completely invisible from the lake.  Only about 5 feet wide and tall.  We paddled into the cave and toward the back.  It was only about 30 feet deep in the hillside but there were lots of glow worms.  They were easy to see with our eyes but the camera did not pick them up very well.

Next, we headed to the hot springs.  After about another half hour of paddling, we arrived at the springs.  There were quite a few local people already there enjoying the springs.  The springs are only accessible by boat.  There is no access through the mountains on this side of the lake.

This spring has been used by the Māori for hundreds of years and has been a commercial operation since 1914.

The spring pumps out 7500 Liters or almost 2000 gallons of water per hour.  The temperature is a steady 46 Celsius or 114 Fahrenheit.

They are not shy to tout the health benefits of bathing in the hot springs.

The water flows from fissures in the hillside about 40 feet up the hill.  There are several 10 foot by 20 foot concrete pools where the hot water flows from one to the next.  In all there are 6 pools. Each is slightly cooler than the one above.  Of course, the smell of sulfur was very strong 

​Below is the source spring.  Wow, it was hot.​

There is a small cafe at the pools where we were given lunch.  The tour supplied us with "Dads Pies”.  Something like a chicken pot pie but with lots of choices of ingredients.  Coffee and Hot tea were also supplied.  We all wanted something warm to drink before our trip across the lake.

The trip back was even colder than the trip over.  It rained most of the way back. At times is was pouring down.  So after an hour of paddling across the lake, we were soaked to the skin. ​

Still a fun trip but I was so glad we had dry clothes waiting for us in the bus.

Back on the ship, we hurried to our cabin to shower and change for our first dressy night and have dinner with Mom.