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Published: December 22nd 2006
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And it wasn't me........
Rotorua is famous for its sulphur hot springs, but don’t worry as after a while you only become aware of the rotten egg smell when the winds up!!
We managed to find a camp site before dark and after a quick chat with one of our hosts, Kevin it was off to the local chippy for fish & chips. Over the course of the next three nights we got to know the warm and generous nature of Sheryl & Kevin who ran the Redwood Holiday Park. Having overheard Jo’s telephone conversation on our last night, they offered us the honeymoon suite as an engagement present. I nearly snapped his arm off…..tent or bed??!!! Thank you again for your kind generosity and all the helpful advice and trip ideas which made our stay in Rotorua the most memorable.
After a good night sleep our first full days plan was to spend the morning seeing a bit of nature at it’s best with a visit to the Waimangu Volcanic Valley. Then afterwards we would treat ourselves to a hot spring at the Polynesian Spa overlooking Lake Rotorua.
Waimangu Volcanic Valley is the newest geothermal area
in the world (extreme eyebrow lift!) And that is why we went to see it. We chose it out of the 3 or 4 other thermal type attractions in the area, which are abundant throughout the rest of New Zealand. You see the country was created/formed when two tectonic plates the Pacific and the Oceanic crashed together. The force of their collision raising the then two flat edges of the plates like the bonnets of two cars in a head on crash. Anyway : S not sure why I wrote that but back to the place we’re visiting. The thing that separates this thermo attraction to the others is the fact that its unique. It’s the only geothermal system to be created as a direct result of a volcanic eruption within written history. In 1886 the area,which was already being used as a tourist attraction due to its thermal pools and famous pink and white pool terraces was sent into oblivion when Mount Tarawera erupted. Not only did it blow its top, but a series of eruptions spread along the mountain ridge in a southwest and northeast direction to a total distance of 16 Kilometers. The hot springs at lake
Rotomahana exploded to a height of 11 Kilometers, ejecting boiling material and gases over a 6 km area. In all 15,000 sq Kilometers of land were buried, in places up to 40 meters deep. So now that’s its all claimed down a bit we wanted to go and have a look! You can tour the site in a number of ways we decided to hike through the valley to the lake (3hr) and then take the boat trip around the lake (45min) followed by the bus back. The whole tour was well worth the $60. The craters along the valley walk were amazing, either looking straight out of a sci-fi or a Jurassic Park film. The boat trip around Lake Rotomahana was pretty good and gave good views of the volcano. The highlight of the trip was the boiling over of a large geyser at the foot of a high sloped cliff beside the lake, which looked like, and was called the Cauldron.
So after our nature feast it was off for a long soak in the hot pools of The Polynesian Spa. The spa is well known and we were worried in might be over crowded, but after
a quick look around we were pleased to find it fairly quiet. On offer you could have a deluxe spa at $30 each or an adult’s pool & Priest Spa at $15 a person. Thinking we’d get no real difference in experience other than a slightly less landscaped environment we opted for the cheaper option.
We must have missed the builders on the way in!! The big pool was a bit rank as chip board screens covered half of it from the building work going on behind. Between the noises of the pneumatic drills and constant chatter from the large colony of seagulls at the edge of the lake it’s funny how it still can be relaxing once you’re submerged in water of 40 degrees ; ) It was great just sitting back looking out onto Lake Rotorua, we just needed a pina colada! Then, just when you thought you’d pulled off a great score, two coach loads of Japenese tourists arrived. Any relaxing was history. As much as they loved being rammed, sardine tight into the small spa pools, it really was time for us to leave. I felt compelled to photograph the advancing army and warn others
that they will stop at nothing in trying to squeeze as many people as possible into confined spaces. Wherever a coach can reach, you will not be safe!! We recommend paying a little bit more and avoid any unnecessary over crowding!!
The next day we were off exploring the wonders of mother nature again!! Plan today was to go to see the Blue Lake, the Green Lake, Lake Tarawera, and then raft the Kaituna River, a Grade 5 rapid with……BUM BUM BAAA the world tallest raftable waterfall. Cool. Just had to convince Jo! I’ll do a separate blog for our rafting trip.
The blue, green and Tarawera lakes were all on the same road as our campsite so we set off to see them first. Blue Lake is called so because the water is blue! But no….more interestingly the blue lake was formed 2000 years ago by a collapsed volcanic crater and is turquoise in colour due to the reflection from its white rhyolite and pumice bedrock. It is also said to be home of the legendary Taniwha (lake monster). The green lake is green due to its shallower sandy bottom. And as such is a bit of
the poor relation! The biggest of the lakes is Lake Tarawera and I know nothing about it!! Although it does look nice from a distance!
In the afternoon after our rafting and because of Kevin and Sheryl’s kind offer of a free nights accommodation we headed up to the northeast coast to see Mount Maunganui near Tauranga. We were a bit achy & tied from the mornings rafting so a hike up was out of the question and instead we enjoyed a very scenic walk around the base of the mountain. Mt Mauganui is an extinct volcano right on the coast with shell strewn beaches and rock pool below. The walk gave great views of the sandy beach coast line of Matakana Island, which stretched away as far as the eye could see. The sun was warm and it really was a pleasant walk, it reminded us of the Mediterranean with red flowering trees jutting out from the cliffs along windy gravel pathway.
Back at the campsite we met a Kiwi guy called Hayden who was kind enough to let me share in his beers. A real gentleman. Cheers mate, it was cool getting to know you. We
Hot Springs of Mother Earth
These are their real names I'm not just making them up. look forward to hearing from you or your daughter in the future. Oh yeah, you’d never guess where he was brought up?? Bennydale!! It had him in stitches, when I told him this story of me getting all excited about finding a town called Bennydale.
That night we slept like babies and missed our morning alarm altogether, but we were only going down the road to Lake Taupo so no planes or boats were missed. Thanks again Sheryl and Kevin that really was the best nights sleep we have had in New Zealand so far.
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