Rotorua, NZ

We woke up the next morning to the most incredible sunrise ever and said goodbye to our Australian friends as we headed for the Lake Rotorua region. After a brief stop at the Kiwi fruit gardens where we tasted the locally grown fruit and wonderful kiwi shortbread cookies, we were on the road to Rotarua. Lake Rotorua is NZ's second largest lake and a hot spot of geo-thermal activity. We planned to spend one day at the lake on our way south. In Rotorua you can find anything from exploding geysers, to hot springs, to bubbling mud holes. Of course, all of this thermal activity is accompanied with the sulfor rich earth and a corresponding rotten egg smell. It took us a while to get used to the smell of the town (who are we kidding, Jaci was still scrunching her nose when we left) but we were eventually able to take in some of Rotorua's nature.

In Rotorua there are plenty of opportunities to see the bubbling earth for free as any of the local residences might have a steaming hole in their front yard. The steaming holes indicate a thermal spot all with varying size and depth. Kuirau Park is a free thermal park where we walked through dozens of hot spots. After the park we headed toward the lake to visit a Maori church and meeting house and possibly a concert or traditional hangi. Once we arrived, however, we discovered that these options are not only expensive but also very packaged. The church and meeting house were beautiful but we were disappointed not to find more Maori information and history here. We will have to continue searching for an authentic experience as we continue south.

After spending the afternoon wandering the town we decided take a break and headed straight for the Polynesian Spa. This spa puts Rotorua's thermal activity to good use and has dozens of outdoor natural pools for guests to sit in and admire views of the Lake. With temperatures getting a bit colder ths was a perfect activity for us as the sunset. We spent a few hours soaking in the tubs and all the steaming hot spots overlooking Lake Rotorua. After the pools we called it a night and walked two miles in the drizzling rain back to our camper. Dinner and planning awaited us before heading further south.

In the morning we hit the Buried Village of Te Wairoa. We wandered the grounds of the village and saw buildings that were submerged by the eruption of Mt. Tarawera in 1886. Of particular interest is the story of tohunga (priest or wizard) Tuhoto Ariki who, according to some, was blamed for for the destruction. The village walk included the buried hotel, homes, shops, and took us through a nice trout stream and sheep field. After a nice morning walk, we hit the road en route to Lake Taupo.

Click HERE for more pics.