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Published: October 9th 2009
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After the Coromandel we stayed in the coastal town of Whakatane for two nights before heading inland to Rotorua.
For those of you that don't know (we didn't) Rotorua is a geothermal wonderland set on a volcanic plateau which means there are plenty of hot springs, bubbling mud pools, steam rising ominously from the ground and a permanent stench of sulphur in the air. It really is overpowering sometimes. Our campsite was on the outskirts of town and as we walked through a geothermal area to get to the centre the smell of rotten eggs was so strong it made me gag. I don't know how the locals cope.
While in Rotorua we treated ourselves to a day at the Polynesian Spa. Armed with towels, fluffy robes and complimentary toiletries we could barely bring ourselves to leave the deluxe shower rooms but we did and headed out into the pools. There are four outdoor pools ascending in temperature by two degrees. We started in the 36degree pool and made it to the 40degree pool but that was pleasant enough. It was lovely being submerged in the natural hot spring while the cold rain lashed down around us. We both
enjoyed a massage which left our skin as soft as velvet and was just the thing we needed after six nights in the van.
Rotorua also has a large Maori population and there are plenty of opportunities to sample traditional Maori culture. We opted for a theatre performance which included a hangi (a way of cooking food in a pit in the ground). Now bearing in mind we had been living on soup (easy to cook on a stove top) the sight of a vast buffet with everything from fresh green-lipped mussels, to smoked fish, tender lamb, potatoes and butternut squash was enough to have us salivating. Then there was a buffet dessert which had ice cream, cheesecakes, pavlova, vats of cream, fresh fruit, well, let's just say we got our money's worth.
I didn't feel too enlightened about Maori culture following the theatre experience as it was more for entertainment than education but it was fun. When it came to choosing audience members to take part in the poi (dance with balls on bits of string) and the haka guess who they chose? Yes, we were
that lucky. It is somewhat embarrassing standing on stage in front
of 100 strangers trying to keep up with the Maori women who make throwing a ball around look very graceful and easy. Who knew it would be so hard to catch the bloody thing? And as for Simon doing the haka... one of the young boys on our table told his mum it was the funniest thing he had seen all day.
The theatre performance came with free tickets to the gondola and luge which is another attraction in Rotorua. We took the gondola up the mountain and then queued up for the luge (a gokart that's powered by gravity) and then hurtled along a track down the mountain. This was a lot of fun and the luge certainly gets some speed up, I felt like I might take off.
On the way out of Rotorua we decided to stop at Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland to see what all the sulphur smell was about. As part of an active volcanic region the scenery is quite barren as it's mainly rocks and as we walked around (making sure to stay on the path) we could see steam and water bubbling from the ground around us. The rocks and water pools
are all quite colourful due to the gases from the ground. We did get enveloped in a huge steam cloud from the champagne pool (not as glamorous as it sounds) which was very eerie and rather smelly. I think our favourite attraction was the giant bubbling mud pool. It was like a field of mud that would constantly pop and explode like cow pats. It was, of course, a bit pongy but we spent ages trying to guess which part would explode next so we could capture a photo of the spurting mud.
After checking out the green and blue lakes (very picturesque, surrounded by forest) and going for a walk through the redwood forest we left the smell of Rotorua behind and headed to Taupo. We just about made out Lake Taupo through the torrential rain and then spent three days hiding from the downpour in a campsite cabin.
Next stop Waitomo.
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Jo Hall
non-member comment
Haha
I would have paid any amount to see Simon doing the haka - sounds fab guys!xx