A dream come true

Sunday 6th. Very much today a day of rest. Today, Phaedra, the daughter of our hosts, cooked us cheesy scrambled egg on toast. What's more, we could have had it in bed! We managed to get up in time to sit respectably at the table. 

After our lazy start we set off to see the blue and green lakes nearby. They are known as Lake Tikitapu 

and Lake Rotokakahi. 

The blue colour of the lake can be attributed to rhyolite and pumice on the lake bed. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the lake in its full glory. The day was slightly overcast with a strong breeze blowing. Also, being Sunday, there were many families out for a day at the 'seaside!' 

So we moved on fairly quickly and found a walk alongside the lake. 

The walk could have continued for much longer but we decided to move on to the Buried Village near Te Waiora. The Buried Village is New Zealand's most visited Archaeological Site, where stories of the 1886 Mt Tarawera Eruption come to life. In 1886 the volcanic eruption covered the village in 1 1/2 metres of mud. Over the years, much of the village has been excavated and a private museum has been established on the site. 

We spent a couple of hours there walking around the old village and reading about life back in those times. There was also a lovely garden walk and a stiff climb to see the waterfall. All well worth the time and effort. 

Late afternoon we returned back to base and suggested to our hosts that we treat them to supper. Now this is not such a grand gesture when you find out what we were going to do. 

But first we went to the local Anglican Church at 5pm for a taize service. All very different to how we do it but a time of reflection in the midst of a hectic holiday. 

In England, whenever we go up to the boat, we usually stop at KFC for a snack. Ever since we arrived in NZ and I saw KFC I've been saying that we should try it out to see if it's the same here as at home. So, Sunday evening, dream come true, we bought a bucket from KFC, purely for research purposes only. We did notice one difference in that we got chicken, chips, coleslaw, a drink - same as UK - but we also had gravy and mash in a separate pot. I know you can get gravy in the UK but I don't think you can get gravy and mash. Anyway, it was finger lickin' good.