Tauranga and Rotorua....

Today we docked in the port at Tauranga and went by bus to Rotorua, about an hour away.  Beautiful little resort town next to a lake.

Had quite the variety of transportation modes on this short excursion.  We took a gondola ride up a hill, rode a luge halfway down, a ski lift back up, and back down the gondola. 

The luge looked almost like a snow sled but had three wheels and handlebars for steering and stopping. The path was all down hill so when you eased back on the brake, gravity took over.  It was lots of fun and you had complete control over how fast you went.  At the end, you were to put your luge on a conveyor belt to be returned to the top, and that's when hilarity ensued.  

Mother got hers to the conveyor all right, but failed to get off before it started moving.  You can see by the picture that there is a sign that is not designed for people to pass under.  We were laughing so hard that I was having trouble dragging her backwards and off the conveyor.  She finally got off but we wish we would have had video of that!  

I don't believe an establishment like this could operate in the States.  There were limited employees or safety concerns, but it seemed fine without them.  I guess they haven't gotten sued like they would have at home.

Here's a picture from last night of us sitting on one of the decks.

Clearly, yesterday's achievement of photo placement was fleeting....oops