2007.05.23 15:40
Nancy had a medical conference to attend in Rotorua. Helen, Bryan, and Madeleine tagged along. Here we are enjoying dinner at the Fat Dog restaurant.



2007.05.23 16:21



2007.05.24 10:24



2007.05.24 10:25



2007.05.24 10:28



2007.05.24 12:34
At the lakefront playground with another curly-headed little girl.



2007.05.24 12:34
She's too young to go down the slide but that's ok - she has a great time just standing up by it.



2007.05.24 16:00



2007.05.24 16:15



2007.05.25 10:56



2007.05.25 11:08
Nancy and Helen are descending the very steep steps down to the Buried Village waterfall.




2007.05.25 11:13
Pretty waterfall.



2007.05.25 11:13
Nancy and her mom enjoy the scenic waterfall views.




2007.05.25 11:15
Madeleine's fleece jacket worked well as winter pants.




2007.05.25 11:23
This is the view from in front of the waterfall. This region was devastated by an earthquake in the late 1800's and the landscape is very different now than it was back then.




2007.05.25 13:14



2007.05.25 13:14



2007.05.25 13:28



2007.05.25 14:11
Our hotel had a heated pool. Madeleine was frightened at first but after a few minutes calmed down and had a great time "swimming" with us.



2007.05.26 08:01
Steam rises from the hot mineral pools at the Wai-o-tapu thermal wonderland.




2007.05.26 08:02
The pools smelled a bit but were full of lovely colors.



2007.05.26 08:07
The hike through the thermal pool area lasted about two hours.



2007.05.26 08:09
There were many opportunities for photos in the beautiful thermal wonderland.



2007.05.26 08:22
This was one of the larger thermal pools, about halfway through the hike.



2007.05.26 08:32
The colors were amazing.



2007.05.26 08:33
Bryan reached his hand into the water around here, to test the temperature. Some spots were only lukewarm but other places were too hot to leave one's hand in.



2007.05.26 08:47
Hot little waterfall.



2007.05.26 08:48
It's hard to tell from this picture, but this was a very primordial scene. With the bubbling pools, green water, mountains in the distance, and not a hint of human interference, it was easy to imagine this scene coming straight out of the Pleipscene era.



2007.05.26 10:54
Next stop: Zorbing! Nancy slipped on her bathing suit and climbed aboard the truck which would take her to the top of the hill.



2007.05.26 10:56
Moments after this a large group of Indian tourists arrived and flocked to Madeleine. It was quite a scene as these tourists were very loud and bubbly and quite stricken with the baby. She was passed around as they took photo after photo ...



2007.05.26 10:58
Nancy's somewhere up there at the top of the hill, climbing into her Zorb ...



2007.05.26 10:59
Zorb close-up. Contents: a few bucketfuls of warm water, and our Nancy in a bathing suit.



2007.05.26 10:59
Nancy emerges from her Zorb. She later described her trip as "awesome". You can see videos of her Zorbing down the hill later in the gallery.



2007.05.26 12:45



2007.05.26 12:46



2007.05.26 17:04
Apparently Madeleine doesn't like crushed rice crispies.




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2007.05.27 04:44
Baby goes swimming.AVI




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2007.05.27 05:03
Bubbling mud.AVI




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2007.05.27 05:10
The Champagne Pool.AVI




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2007.05.27 12:34
Nancy zorbing.AVI



2007.05.28 02:37
At the Buried Village



2007.05.28 15:31



2007.05.28 15:31