Some quick photos to follow up on our little day trip to Mission Bay. Like I said its a great little spot to grab your Fish and Chips in newspaper of course and cross the street to the beach to eat it while people watching. Great fun.
While driving down to Mission Bay yesterday, we stopped at a few points along the way there and back to gather some time lapse footage of Auckland as the clouds rolled by and the sun set. I think I need to do some of the miniature tilt shift effect on the docks. I shot most of this video using the Panasonic GH1. The Panasonic allows me to record for more than 12 minutes which is a restriction of the Canon 60D and all Canons for that matter. Mission Bay itself is a great little tourist area where they say you can get the best Fish and Chips in Auckland. We didn’t get a chance to test that claim out but we did get a few scope of the best Ice Cream I think I may have ever had at a Movenpick a Swiss ice cream maker that is big here in New Zealand. If you ever see one of their stores do yourself the favor and give them a try. Here is a quick time lapse video.
One of the attractions to be seen in New Zealand are its many active geothermal areas. One such area, the Waimangu Volcanic Valley is located about 20 km south of Rotorura. I have to say this place is worth every penny of its admission fee. You can take a guided tour but I suggest you take the self guided tour. Get there early though as you’ll want to catch the last bus that takes you back to the lodge. The walk is largely all down hill so the walk back would be a true workout.
Along the walking path you will be treated a wide range of bubbling, gurgling, and belching geothermic vents all in a range of colors. One of the most spectacular sites is the Inferno Crater. This extinct crater now contains an amazing blue water lake. Fed by hots springs the lake always has a layer of smoke rising from its Caribbean blue surface.
I took a lot of video while at the park but my little laptop is barely up to the task of editing the HD footage. I plan on doing a big edit session once I return home. For now however here are some photos from the Waimangu Volcanic Valley.
Today we headed down to Rotorura to spend a few days in this idyllic vacation spot located in the center of the North Island. Well known for its hot springs and mud baths the area is truly a volcanic hot bed. On the way to Rotorura we made a few stops along the way. One stop was at the Hamilton Botanical Gardens. Located just outside of downtown Hamilton, the botanical gardens offer a wonderful range of flora set in gardens that mimic styles from around the world. Here are a few photos from today’s journey and the gardens.
After we left Orewa beach this morning we drove back down towards Auckland. A great place we stopped in was Devonport which is a really nice little tourist town. Also located in Devonport is Mount Victoria which offers amazing views of Auckland and Rangitoto island which is one of many extinct volcanoes in the area. We then went over to Auckland where we would be spending the evening. Here the photos for the second half of the day.
