With all of the holiday havoc behind us, we packed it up and headed north again, back to Rotorua, only this time we'd have the time to do it properly. Rotorua is the North Island's biggest and oldest tourist hub. Going all the way back to the 1880's, tourists from across the world have been drawn to Rotorua for its many geothermal wonders. Along with the likes of Yellowstone National Park and Iceland, it is one of the most active and rambunctious geothermal regions on earth. Blessed with a plethora of hot springs, pure water springs, vibrant colored pools and over 10 lakes, you might just call it paradise if it wasn't for the overwhelming smell of sulphur that occupies the city like a spectre (but hey, even Mother Earth passes gas every once in a while! I just call it Roto-Poo-Uh). On top of the amazing natural attractions, those crafty kiwis have added a touch of what New Zealand is most known for - adrenaline filled heart stopping adventures, and for the icing on the top, Rotorua is the center for tourist based Maori cultural attractions.
On the route to Rotorua from Taupo, our first stops in the Rotorua region were arguable two of the best geothermal parks that the region has on offer. The first and most famous was Wai-o-Tapu. We arrived a little late to watch the geyser erupt, but the hour loop track around the park was good enough that we didn't feel we had missed much. The park is full of bubbling mud pools, steaming ponds and lakes of whatever color neon you can imagine, all with some catchy name to go along with it. The only drawback seeing such amazing sights was that you had to wade through the crowd of others eager to witness the same spectacles. It was surely an amazing visual spectacle, and that being so, I'll shut up and just show you some photos!
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| The Champagne Pools |
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| Mud Pit! |
The second park explored is the newest of all geothermal areas in the region, created when Mt Tarawera exploded in the 1880's, completely changing the lay of the land in the area. It turned out to be, much to my surprise, a much cooler and more scenic walk than that in Wai-o-Tapu! The walk is a one way walk through the newly formed river valley that is covered in native forest. Along the way you're treated to a variety of different landscapes, as well as another array of strange, alien like lakes. As we walked the rain began to fall, and combined with the steam rising from the lakes and the river it created an amazing sense of primeval atmosphere. It was such that it seemed like any moment we'd run into a pack of dinosaurs and meet a gruesome demise. With a landscape like that the imagination could just run wild, and it was clear to me then why Peter Jackson should have chosen New Zealand as the location to film a series like Lord of the Rings.
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| Frying Pan Lake |
To finish the evening off strong, we drove into Rotorua for the final event of the evening - the Hangi. A Hangi is essentially the Maori version of the Hawaiian Luau, a cultural performance combined with a feast of food cooked for many hours underground. The evening began with round of drinks after we found our table (thanks to one generous Megan Fry), and once everyone was settled the host gave a brief introduction of what was in store for us, all the while demonstrating a surprising knowledge of foreign language greetings. No language was too obscure! Croatian? Sure. Hungarian? Why not?. Impressive.
After that we were all whisked away to see the food as it was coming up from the ground before taking a short walk along the grounds to a pure water spring feeding the river on the property. I've never seen one of these before, and boy was it ever impressive. The clearest water I've ever seen - until a leaf fell from a tree onto the surface of the water I'd thought that the surface was several feet lower than it turned out to be due to the blue colored sands on the bottom of the pool. After that marvel we watched as actors paddled a traditional style Maori war canoe on the river before the cultural performance began. The whole experience was a bit cheesy, but still the most insightful look into historic Maori living I've had so far on this whole trip. Oh yeah, and the food provided a welcome respite from the camping meals we'd been easting in the previous month.
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