Thrills And Spills

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Arriving so late into the campsite meant that I had a full day ahead of me in Rotorua.... and with the attraction of thrills and spills as well as the thermal activity that the area is famous for, I was going to make the most of it.

First stop.... Te Puia, a thermal geyser and volcanic park with a bit of Maori culture thrown in. The nice lady behind the ticket window did the usual inquiries as to what package to see and where I was from.... then asked me if I was staying at a hotel in the area. When I mentioned I wasn't, she promptly told me to tell all the other places that I was going to visit that I was staying in a local hotel and some may give me a discount. So for the purposes of today I was a customer of Emerald Bay Hotel.... score!!!

The geyser here is the only active one left in the area and still spouts boiling water and steam between 2-3 times every hour. The initial spray can reach over 15m high when it first throws the blockage before running down a mineral rich slope back into the river beside it. Fascinating to witness the power of nature over and over again.

The park also had an enclosure of Kiwis, and sneaking in before all the tour groups came through meant I had unhindered views. I never realized a couple of things about these flightless birds.... first, they're nocturnal.... second, they can run fast.... and third, they're actually quite big. The ones I saw would have been about half a meter tall and if it was running at me I'd be heading in the opposite direction as those beaks look like they could be lethal.

With the sun well up and a warm day on it's way, it was time to have a bit of fun. Skyline operates a cable car and luge up the side of a mountain just outside of Rotorua and provides not only a great view of the city and it's surrounds, but a quick way of getting back down. Just my kind of thing. With a giant swing that propels you over the edge of the cliff at over 150km/h and 3 different luge tracks to get the blood pumping, I was in heaven. Oh yeah.... the views were nice too I guess.

I've always wanted to try out a Zorb before and after the thrills and spills (yes I stacked my luge.... right at the end.... under the chairlift.... where everyone could see.... and laugh) of Skyline, I was off to finally give it a go. Another 3 tracks ranging from a dry, fast track where you are strapped in so that you spin with the zorb (I couldn't decide which way was up for about 2 minutes after), to the 2 wet options where they add water to the inside of the contraption and send you down a zig-zag or drop off course, with you getting tossed around like an article in a washing machine. Brilliant fun for all ages in my book.

With the excitement component of the day winding down, I took off to the opposite side of Lake Rotorua to visit Okere Falls, the site of one of the first hydro-electric power stations in the world. The sheer volume of water travelling down the Kaituna River made it the perfect place for a power supply, but the station was closed in 1939 when the demand outweighed the 200kW output of the station (not much at all by today's standards). While in operation though, the residents of Rotorua were so proud of the fact that they had power (only the 4^th city in New Zealand to get it) that they even took things like an electric kettle with them when they got a family photo taken. It also powered the first Maori village in the country.

Another thermal zone, Hell's Gates, was the final stop for the day (and about as much sulphur as I could handle). What's amazing about these areas is that around the bubbling and steaming pits it's barren like the surface of the moon and the only colour comes from the yellow sulphur crystals around the fumaroles.... but mere meters away is the lush, green forest that is so typical of New Zealand. It creates quite a contrast.

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Comments

[Suzanne Adair]

NZ Trip
Mark you are making me envious what a great time you are having and yes what a score but with your beautiful nature it would'nt have been difficult . Keep enjoying and great to get an email from you about your adventure. Suz