Rotorua

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Such a cute little hostel, newly refurbished and super friendly owners and atmosphere. On the first night we went from only 6 of us in the hostel, to 8 the second and then double figures to around 12 on my final night! But it was nice as majority if us congregated in the lounge/eating area in the evening, and sat around on the sofas chatting, watching tv, and some playing chess.

First morning: I now understand why people warned me about the smell. When you open the window it’s like a slap in the face, especially first thing in the morning, when you senses are even more vulnerable!

Rotorua is a heavily Māori populated area, and the first area I have really experienced this. The main thing that strikes me about this, is that the atmosphere is very different to other areas of New Zealand. There is no friendly vibe like many other places in New Zealand, and it is more inner city London, every man for themselves feeling. The other very stark contrast to other areas of New Zealand is the blatant disregard for their environment – rubbish strewn in parks, along roads, in rivers and in the lake. Everywhere I have been in New Zealand so far has had the most astounding clean rivers and lakes – such crystal waters you can scarily believe your eyes, except for here, where the lakes are heavily polluted. I find this rather interesting, as internationally Māori are portrayed as people who value and protect the environment. This of course may have been true in the past, however this is the opposite to my current observations.

During my time in Rotorua I visited the Whai-Ta-Po geothermal area. Apparently this was a site not to miss in New Zealand, however I found it a little disappointing, and very similar to the crater’s of the moon site in Taupo. However the area was a lot vaster, with massive lakes of steaming water, mud pools and also sulphur mounds. The highlight of the area was at the end where there was a vivid yellow lake, from all the sulphur deposits.

Despite the unfortunate fact; areas are polluted, it feels like being in a big inner city area, oh and of course the smell… I do enjoy Rotorua. The Government Garden and the Bath House museum provide a wealth of information on history and culture in a very ‘hands on’ and interesting way. The Bath house being designed in ………. It was used to treat patients by either electric treatment, mud treatment or…… The trip down to the basement is a rather eerie experience, and viewing the baths with the rudimental electric wires attached also sends a shiver down the spine.

The other major highlight of my stay in Rotorua was white water rafting on the Kartona river. Alex also came rafting and with the 16 others we all spent an amazing few hours getting thoroughly adrenalin pumped and a little soaked hitting the Grade 5 rapids and the grand finale being a 7m waterfall. We all managed to stay in the boat, despite it going completely vertical over the waterfall and into the river, so at the end they gave us the opportunity to jump in, and then for the last set of rapids (a lot smaller than the others), we were allowed to hold on to the outside of the water and go over them in the water….a lot of fun!

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