Rotorua

I moved from Lake Taupo Rotorua on the 3rd July. Its about one and a half hours drive north east of Taupo. Rotorua is a city and is much larger than Taupo. Like Taupo it is on the edge of a very large lake - Lake Rotorua. The parachute centre here is called NZone and is on the edge of town and is based at the airport. The airport is quite busy so there is a fair amount of air traffic. At first sight the landing area is quite a challenge with quite a few obstacles. However it not as bad as it first seems and have done 2 jumps here and had plenty of room. The guys at the DZ give me a good briefing so I was well prepared. The view is stunning, with lakes all around and very green and undulating countryside. Yet another type of plane to jump out of, this time a Fletcher, its a turbine with a great paint job (for you parachute people out there, it was the predecessor of the PAC).

Rotortua is famous for its hot springs and thermal baths, the smell of I presume sulphur is never far away, you get used to it and after a while don't really notice it. There are all kinds of activities here and many nice places to walk. I have taken a few pictures to give you and idea of the place and more of me around aeroplanes. The pictures all show a large building which is the local museum, it used to be be the bath house. Inside you can find out about the history of Rotorua and its people as well as a detailed explanation of the geology in this part of the world. Picture of the fountain is from the park which is in front of the museum.

As I write this, the sun is out but its a bit on the windy side for me to jump. I will be heading up to-wards Auckland this afternoon (Sunday 6th July) as I fly out to Christchurch in the morning. I have been following the weather on the south island and they have had lots of snow. I have a long drive to Queenstown when I get to Christchurch, its about six and a half hours, so I am going to do it in two parts and stay over somewhere on Monday night. It could be an interesting 24 hours . john 6/7