Independence National Historic Park

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I was over in North Carolina for a 1.5 week business trip. Over the weekend I decided to leave the South and head up to Philadelphia to explore US history.

I made it into Philadelphia in the early morning, made my way downtown and started exploring the sites around Independence National Historic Park straight away.I first stopped at the Liberty Bell to then continue on for Independence Square and a guided tour through Independence Hall led by an enthusiastic park ranger. After a quick lunch I continued in the National Constitution Center.

Easter in Paris

Gallery

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This gallery contains 16 photos.

Similar to last year also this year a couple of friends and myself decided to look for our Easter eggs somewhere else – this year in Paris … some impressions in the gallery.

Last Hike in New Zealand

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Our last morning as a group – back on land we had the opportunity for the last hike for this tour – starting at Haruru Falls going through Waitangi Forest and mangrove all the way back to Paihia – from where we left for Auckland in the early afternoon.

Waitomo Caves – where the glowworms roam …

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From Rotorua we continued to Waitomo, where we went straight to some serious caving.

We – once more – changed into wet suits and made our way into a cave with a tube each. The tour included it all – from crawling through tight holes (too small for Michael), jumping of cliffs, going down a waterslide – and most important sitting back and relaxing in an inner tube watching the glowworms on the ceiling.

Later on, a few of us (including myself) went for abseiling in the dark. We did a first abseil into a canyon with lights on to get the feeling … and then a second one in darkness – to then fully appreciate the beauty of the canyon with all the glowworms in there.

— No photos — unfortunately —

Te Puia – Volcanos for Beginners

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This morning we visited Te Puia, a Maori Arts and Crafts Institute and natural thermal valley (complete with mud pools and a geyser field); we joined a guided tour and had a walk around.

Compared to what we had seen on White Island yesterday … the attractions of the natural thermal valley felt a bit like a joke. On White Island it all been a bit more intense and – of course – without those Chinese tour groups, we constantly had to walk around …

Maori Cultural Show & Hangi Dinner

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Once we got back from our trip to White Island, we had a short break to change clothes and get showered – in order to get that crazy sulfur smell of our bodies (I actually ended up throwing my pullover away … even washing did not do the trick).

Anyhow – after that break – we went for a Maori cultural performance and hangi dinner. The whole setup was quiet touristy, though provided some insight into maori traditions – from the waka (the traditional war canoe), to the moko (traditional tattoos) and their meanings, an overview of traditional weapons – and of course dancing and singing. All that was followed by a traditional hangi dinner (ground cooked meats and vegetables) and a jungle walk after dinner.