Drive to New Plymouth

Kicked out of bed at 5:15 by Tina made the most of it and shot the dawn over Lake Rotorua - one other (German?) photog there. Sunrise was a few minutes later than google claimed - probably doesn't account for nearby hills? Few good shots.
Visited the buried village - the area seems to have been hosting tourists since the 1860s with a minor interruption due to volcanic eruption. The waterfall was the hi light for me although the rest was well enough done - iPods to do the self guided tour were a good idea and worked better than the crummy audio tour devices other places fool around with.
Hit the road for Te Kuiti on the road for New Plymouth around 12. Sheep and forestry and not much else.
Kids has ice cream at Te Kuiti and couldn't finish them.
Drive to New Plymouth was ok with slow motor homes, tractors, roadworks on Mt Messenger to keep us awake. Piopio fruit farms look like a good place to stop on the way back.
Stopped at Waitara briefly to phone ahead and get the keys for the Oakura place. Stopped on the drive to Oakura so I could catch Mt Taranaki with the cloud off - looks good!