Rotorua

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I arrived in Rotorua on the evening of the 11 Feb 2008 and my accommodation was the Regal Geyserland Hotel which has the Whakarewarewa Thermal Wonderland in its backyard. That was pretty cool in that I had a first floor room and could open the patio door and walk about 50 feet and take the pictures of the geyser and mud pot area that you see in these photos.

While I tried to get accommodation pretty close to the bus station in each town, saving me time and hassle, I did the worst job in Rotorua. While there was a golf course right across the street from my hotel in Rotorua, it was the better part of two miles to the bus station. I like to walk and got a good amount of walking in during my visit there.

Rotorua is an area of very active geothermal activity, and there seem to be Fumaroles/Vents all around town. Thus, the smell of rotten eggs can be fairly noticeable. On the bus ride into town, I saw about a 4 foot vent spout in the yard of a home (but failed to get that captured by my camera). The vents were just sprinkled all over the area, and you could see the smoke/gas rising from vents in lots of places.

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Photos

Very Active Geyser
This geyser supposedly sends plumes of water some 30 feet into the air some 15 to 20 times a day. It was continuously venting each time I looked at it though.

Lotso Mud Pots
This area was constantly percolating. I left the windows open in my room at night and you could hear the constant gurgling and belching done by the probably 50 little active areas in this muddy area.

How much does gas cost here?
I dunno. Lets see, at NZD $1.66/liter, that then means what? My NZD $310 room, White Island Tour, and shuttle to Rotorua ended up costing me USD $252. 1 US gallon = 3.7854118 liters. Ok. That then means that gas here costs NZD $6.28/gallon, which then means USD $5.10/gallon. Ouch!!!

Big ole palm tree
Don't see many of these in Denver.

Maori Warrior Statue
I wouldn't want to mess with this guy.

Grocery Store
I found that this particular grocery store reminded me a little bit of say Whole Foods. Good produce and such.

Its Chokka!
Never seen an ice cream dessert quite like this!

Cop Cars
These for some reason remind me of "A Clockwork Orange". Would have been fun to see the Blues Brothers movie made with these insignia on the cop cars.

Memorial Park on South side of Lake Rotorua
Note the sign with 20 displayed inside the red circle. That means 20 kilometers per hour speed limit.

Lake Rotorua
Lake Rotorua is actually a caldera.

Lake Rotorua
Float plane for hire there as you can see.

Lake Rotorua
More of the same.

Rotorua Golf Course
While the tees and greens were green, the rest of the golf course was pretty brown. New Zealand was experiencing its worst drought in some 100 years.

My Hotel Room
I could walk out of my room using the patio door and walk about 50 feet to get a clear view of the active geyser. Quite cool.

Morning Geothermal Activity
Lots of steam and gas to be seen.

Morning Geothermal Activity
More of the same.

Geothermal Activity on Lake Rotorua
As seen right beside the Polynesian Spa.

Crown Pumpkin
Never heard of these before.

Buttercup
Some kind of squash I believe.

Kiwi Fruit
Lets see, at NZD $2.99/kg, that then means how much per pound? That then means NZD $1.36/lb and thus, USD $1.10/lb. Pretty affordable.

Pineapple Shaped Palm Tree
Funny story behind this and the two following photos.