Blogs from Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 14

Well you have to do something different on holiday! Some come to New Zealand to Bungy Jump but for me I could not eventually resist the lure of a trip in an Otter Seaplane from Lake Rotorua to view Mount Tarawera and the surrounding thermal area. This was a late afternoon, spur of the moment trip. We took off from Lake Rotorua just outside our hotel and flew SW over the Crater Lake District (rather like ours back home but volcanic in origin) towards the summit of Mt Tarawera. Enroute you could see along the whole line of the volcanic area out to the currently active White Island in the distance over which a plume of stream could be seen. On reaching Tarawera the explosion craters of the 1886 eruption could be seen and we flew ... read more

Arrived in Auckalnd and spent a little time sorting out a new SIM card for my phone and a hire car. Stayed in Auckland overnight and decided to set off early in the morning. With my lovely little satnav to show me the way had was so on on my way to Rotorua which is about a three hour drive from Auckland. I just could not believe how quiet the roads were, it was very rural and a lot like the English countryside. Arrived in Rotorua and decided after a visit to the tourist information centre that I would visit the buried village of Te Wairoa. In 1886 a catastrophic eruption of nearby Mount Tarawera by destroyed a tourist village. Prior to the eruption people came from far and wide to bathe in the Pink and ... read more

The internet connection that I have for the next week isn't all that great so I can't upload pictures to my blogs. I don't want to leave them all until I get home so I'll post the blogs without pictures and then add the pics in later. We arrived at the Maori tribal house, called a Murae (pronounced mer-eye), and everyone was extremely welcoming! They said some greeting prayers in Maori language and then welcomed each of us formally by shaking hands, touching noses and then touching foreheads. The Murae was a big square room with no furniture besides some chairs stacked in the corner and the carvings on the wall. We were given mattresses and pillows to set up here for the next couple nights. That’s right, 31 students, both professors, and their families were ... read more

Roturua ist ein relative kleiner, stinkiger Ort im zentralen Plateau auf der Nord Insel. Stinkig aus folgendem Grund: es liegt in einer vulkanische Region mit vielen geothermalen Aktivitaeten. Unbedingt sehenswert und man kann dort richtig viele coole Sachen sehen wie Geysiren, blubbernden Vulkanen, kochendheissen Schlammloechern, jeder Menge Rauch und Schwefeldampf und mit Suesswasser gefuellten Kraterseen, die aus heissen Quellen gespeist werden. Der beste Ort, um dort zu naechtigen ist ein Hostel namens Crash Palace: entspannte Leute, lockere Athmosphaere, nette Tunes und nicht zu vergessen ein Hot Pool. Was man unbedingt machen sollte: nach Te Puia fahren und sich dort die Vulkane Prince of Wales' Feathers und Pohutu, was auf Maori: "Großer Spritzer" bedeutet. Dort findet man auch ein Kiwihaus und ein nachgebautes Maoridorf mit Konzert und Vorfuehrung. Ist ywar wirklich sehr tour... read more

The following events take place between October 25 and October 26 and are based on a true story. Our bus doesn't leave rotorua until about 4, so we wanted to do a bit of exploring around ole stink-town before we take our leave. Had the best sleep of entire trip in the beautiful YHA...I fully plan on staying at a YHA when we get to Sydney. We walked out to the lake front and then through the government gardens. Still smelly but strangely beautiful too. Like how the earth would look in prehistoric times. We have officially finished all of the candy that Natalie and Mike sent with us on the trip. God help us. We then walked to a few of the smaller geyser areas. Considered walking up to the place where they do zorbing ... read more