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Wellington Harbour with Te Papa in the background.
| Te Papa, New Zealand's National Museum, has several fascinating displays of New Zealand culture, history, wildlife, and geology.
| The steaming vents and fumeroles of Craters of the Moon near Taupo were pretty interesting to walk around.
| The Lady Knox geyser at Waiotapu was a bit anti-climatic, but somewhat interesting.
| We enjoyed watching and listening to the mud pools gurgle and burp.
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There were several craters that were quite deep at Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland. Much of the North Island is an active geothermal zone.
| There were fascinating colours all around the area, due to the various minerals that were deposited around the pools and rocks.
| Even the mosses and lichen were colorful.
| This particular geothermal pool had a peculiar shade of fluorescent yellow.
| The geothermal areas were a colourful reminder of how New Zealand is one of the world's most active volcanic regions.
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A fun stop was in Matamata, where we visited the film site for Hobbiton, used in the Lord of the Rings. This was Frodo and Bilbo's hobbit hole, called Bag End.
| Hobbiton is located on a private sheep farm, and while there is little that remains of the original set, we could see how Tolkein's world was brought to life here.
| In Auckland, we took an afternoon drive down to Mission Bay with our friends Gary and Steff.
| One of our Auckland highlights was having a meal atop the Sky Tower, where we were treated to sweeping views of Auckland's night lights.
| Another highlight was presenting the Companion Flag to the students of Willow Park Primary, who put on a phenomenal performance for us.
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Teacher Ms. Nicholson and Vice Principal Ms. Basset were instrumental in helping Willow Park Primary become the first school in New Zealand to adopt the Companion Flag.
| We took the ferry from Devenport on the North Shore to the city.
| We were treated to great views of the city from the harbour. The weather stayed pretty decent until our last day in New Zealand.
| The Ferry Building, relatively close to the viaduct area, where the America's Cup was held in 2003.
| Typical New Zealand fare: Pineapple Lumps, Buzz chocolate, Lemon and Paeroa drink, and an interesting fruit called a feijoa.
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