9th Day - Wai-O-Tapu / Magakino /Taupo

The day started off with a trip to (not to be missed when in the neighbourhood) Wai - O - Tapu Thermal wonderland and of course the tour starts with the The Lady Knox geyser which is helped along every morning at approximately 10h15 - especially for the benefit of the visitors .

Thereafter we toured through the thermal area - some highlights shown above - notice how the water is boiling - also oyster pool.

Next it was off to my place of birth Mangakino I had no idea what to expect - did it live up to expectations - here I was - so many years later in life - it was what it was - a quiet smallish town with a nice lake. Caused by the series of damns they bulit - this is what caused me to be born here - my father Thomas McKenzie - left his trade as printer and somehow ended up on the dams - inspecting the quality of the concrete that was being used. Why did we not stay in NZ you are wondering - my Mum became homesick so we returned to Scotland about a year after I was born. (Speculation on my part - but I think my Mum yearned for something back in Scotland that no longer existed - within 6 to 7 years we were on the move again this time Cape Town - South Africa. I admire the fact that they went out there - that they saw fit to try it all again . . . So here I was back in NZ where I was born - the irony of re-tracing my parents footsteps was not lost on me (I was doing it in revesrse - to complete my journey all I have to do is move back to NZ . . . will I? We spent some time sitting with our feet in the water just enjoying the tranquility of the moment. We stopped at the Bus stop Cafe - picture above - next to the lake - the owner was born in Mangakino himself - we spoke exchanged pleasantries and we were on our way again.

Lastly we stopped of at the great lake Taupo -

An eventful day - food for thought - I lay awake for a while that evening thinking . . .