On our way from the Coromandel to the city of Rotorua, we stopped at a really neat garden complex called the Te Puna Quarry Park, in the Bay of Plenty region. This was an impressive volunteer-run garden that was built in an abandoned rock quarry.
We spent a couple of hours there admiring all the tropical plants and discovering new ones, including some species which existed when the dinosaurs were roaming the earth. We marveled at the size of the monsteras and succulents, Sophie was getting inspiration for future gardens. We even saw some newly planted Kauri trees, hope they will eventually become several thousand years old.
As we were making our way up the quarry grounds, the views were spectacular. We could even see Mount Maunganui – a volcanic mountain right on the beach where we camped at two years ago on our first trip to New Zealand. This little break in nature was greatly appreciated in our longer driving day towards the city of Rotorua.
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