May 26, 2024
Gougane Barra, County Cork
On Saturday I drove from Mayo down to Cork Co. and the home of my dear friend Edel Foley. We meet each other in Ocean City, New Jersey nearly 35 years ago and have gotten together for several vacations over the years. Edel is always up for a trip to sunshine!! She is going to start the cruise with me out of Belfast on the 30th. Now we are catching up in Cork, before heading up North. Today, Sunday May 26th, we drove down to Gougane Barra, a remote lake and forest area that has a small village population that speaks Gaelic, as their daily language. We had to dodge the rain, but managed a nice walk around before it became lashing! Said some prayers at St. Finbarr's Oratory too!
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Rotorua became a bonus city for us. Our Port stay in Tauranga got cut down to one day, due to NZ biosecurity regulations and since we really wanted to do Hobbiton, we decided to get off the ship and stay in hotels and get back on the ship, in a few days. Due to a variety of factors, the Ship ended up doing a quick pick up of us in Tauranga, three days later. The Kiwi's we encountered along the way, who helped with all our last minute details, were amazingly kind, hospitable and generous. Below is our tired, chilly group huddled at the security shed, outside the Port in the wee hours (1:30 am) Monday morning, awaiting our final hurdle of getting back on our Home. Home sweet home! What an adventure!
Rotorua, New Zealand is known for it's geothermal activity ( geysers, mud pools, hot springs) and rich Maori culture . I saw lots of that last time I was here in 2016, so this time I wanted to see their Redwoods in Whakarewarewa Forest. John and Colleen joined me in exploring. Their redwoods are smaller than the ones in Muir Woods California, but still impressive. Both are planted forest dating back to around 1908.
Love the unexpected, along the road, sights we get to see and discover. Along the way from Hobbiton to Rotorua we came across these three unique large buildings. I believe the town was Tirau and lots of cars and buses were stopping to observe the buildings, use the public restrooms, (which are housed in one of them) and grab some snacks, gas and / or souvenirs.