If it smells, it must be Rotorua……

Today (Saturday) was our farewell to South Island. We had looked forward to our return for five years. It was everything we had remembered from last time & more. It did not disappoint!. It was awesome.!
We very sadly said our good bye to White Shadows, Bill, Mike & Zoey right after breakfast. We made our way to the airport & were off for Rotorua. Quick stop in Christchurch & we were on our way again. As we descended to Rotorua Regional Airport, a passenger in front of me sniffed & asked we could smell the sulfur yet. I think I actually could! In Christchurch we picked up an unaccompanied five year old who turned out to be a character. He was seated across from us by (as we learned) a primary school teacher. She was very patient as he continued to talk the entire trip. When we landed, he promptly took out the emergency exit card, pointed to the slide & asked if he could go out ‘that way’. So funny. Probably the only one onboard who actually read the card!
We made our way to Kotare Lodge home of Murray (a retired Air New Zealand Flight Engineer) & his wife Kate who is a fifth generation Kiwi. Their home is right on Rotorua lake. Although it is cloudy & rainy but the view is gorgeous. They have Bridie, the Biscuit eater in residence. He is an eleven year old Airedale dog. After visiting with Murray, Kate & Bridie, we headed to Rotorua to see what North Island has to offer. Still suffering from leaving South Island, we tried very hard to keep our minds open to what the north had in store for us. First up, just around the corner from the lodge, on the lake, there were what looked like hundreds of black swans. Gorgeous & a nice photo op!
We wandered through Rotorua, stopping to walk through the Government Gardens. Very pretty, lots in bloom & a bandstand that is over a hundred years old. Dinner at a local Thai place that turned out to be excellent. On the way back to the Kotare, another nice surprise as we followed a gorgeous rainbow above the lake.

As it came down on the horizon, part of it was shining on the lake. It stayed long enough for us to pull over at the same area we saw the swans & take more pictures.