Rotorua

We wanted to get out and explore some before Ross started on his PhD so we went up to Rotorua for five days  (two of travel, three of exploring) at the end of June.  Rotorua is one of the world's most concentrated and accessible geothermal areas, so Ross and I spent our time exploring and marveling at all of the geysers, steaming pools, and boiling mud.

Rotorua is located about 480km north of Wellington, close to the Bay of Plenty, in the central North Island.  Since we do not have a car, we took an Intercity bus (intercity.co.nz) from Wellington but it is also possible to fly.  Seeing as we decided to go about 12 hours before our bus left Wellington, flying was out of the question.  It is approximately a 7.5 hour ride from Wellington to Rotorua but you pass through some lovely countryside and, if the weather is decent, you get a great view of the volcanoes in Tongariro National Park.

Mount Ngauruhoe (aka Mount Doom) from the Intercity Bus

In Rotorua we stayed at the Funky Green Voyager (funkygreenvoyager.co.nz).  I really like to stay at backpackers (hostels) because you can cook your own food, they often have good deals on activities in the area, they have tons of suggestions of things to do (free and otherwise), there are often other people traveling on a budget that you can talk to about activities in the area, and they are cheaper than normal hotels.  That being said, I normally get a private room as I feel like I am too old to be sharing a room with a bunch of twenty-somethings.

It was overcast and rainy on our first morning so we went on the trial run of the "Rainy Day Trip" with Real Rotorua (http://www.realrotorua.co.nz).  We spent a very pleasant morning soaking at the Waitangi Soda Springs and then drove around some of the lakes in the area.  We then spent an entire afternoon in Kuirau Park, which is a free, public park located in central Rotorua.  It is full of steaming ponds and gently bubbling mud.  There are even warm pools where you can soak your feet!

From there we wandered down to Ohinemutu which was the principal Maori settlement prior to the formation of Rotorua.  We tried to go to St. Faith's Anglican Church but it was closed for the day by the time that we arrived.  The church is known for a window featuring the figure of Christ in a Maori cloak and positioned so that he appears to be walking on the water of the lake behind the church.

The next day we spent all day at Te Puia (http://www.tepuia.com), which contains the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Insitute, in addition to a myriad of geothermal features.

Te Aronui-a-Rua Meeting House

Carving from above the front door of Te Aronui-a-Rua

Pohutu Geyser (on right) and Prince of Wales' Feathers (left).  Pohutu is the largest geyser in the southern hemisphere.

Boiling mud

Maori war canoe

After all of the walking to and from, as well as around Te Puia, we treated ourselves to a soak in the Blue Baths (bluebaths.co.nz).  The Blue Baths opened in 1933 and are designed in the California Spanish Mission style.  They were also one of the first public swimming pools in the world to allow mixed bathing.

On our last day in the area, we ventured out of Rotorua and visited Wai-O-Tapu (waiotapu.co.nz).  When we arrived, the whole area was socked in with clouds/fog and it was right about freezing.  We ended up hanging around all day to explore as the clouds burnt off in the afternoon and we were treated to great views.  Some advice if you are going to visit - skip the Lady Knox Geyser (Pohutu at Te Puia is much more impressive) and go in the afternoon (most of the tour busses show up for the 10:15 Lady Knox eruption and then leave again around lunch).

The Champagne Pool

Artist's Palette

Alum Cliffs

Sulfur-rich spring

Sulfur-stained cave

Lake Ngakoro waterfall

Devil's Bath

Rotorua is an amazing place and we both are already planning a trip back.  Ross really wants to Zorb (zorb.com), and we both want to go to the Waimangu Volcanic Valley and do some of the hikes in the area.  Plus, Rotorua is pretty close to Hobbiton (www.hobbitontours.com), so we could use it as a jumping off point to further exploration...

That's all for now.