Blogs from Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 97

Getting over the jet-lag takes time. It was hard to go to sleep and wake up at a reasonable time. Today we drove about 2 hours north to go caving. This was completely new to me and I had no idea what this was all about. We had breakfast and a couple hours later got off the bus in a very hilly and green part of the north island, called Waitomo. There were 2 choices of where to go and I chose the more difficult one, called Hagas Honking Holes (or something like that) rated 7 out of 10 on the rambo scale. Our group, about 7, was the first. We got into this old van that was just like the original VW slug bug. We went up a windy road, the view was great. ... read more

I survived everyone! Well what can I say about sledging? It was such a riot and it definetly gets your heart racing. I was picked up at the hostel this morning at 8am by my two guides who were quit the characters-they were a lot of fun! Driving out to the river I was reading the comment book and read things like "be prepared to kiss some rocks" or "thanks for rescuing me" etc and i was getting a little nervous (okay quite nervous). We were at the river and in the water by 9am learning how to use the sledge and talked about safety percausions. The guides kept saying that no matter what you do, do not let go of the sledge or you'd be going for a ride...thankfully I didn't let go of it ... read more

Today (Tuesday it was, I think) I went to the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland 30K south of Rotorua. It was so rad. There was this mucky mire and fantastic stink around every corner. Rotorua has extremely active underground thermal activity. Driving along the parkway, you see bands of steam piercing up through the hillsides. At Thermal Wonderland, they have craters that have collapsed into the ground and boiling mud bubbling from down in the depths. The sounds are incredible! Without getting into all the science involved, let me suffice it to say the colors, the smells, the sounds all combined for a wonderful adventure in wonderland. I don’t believe the pictures capture even a fraction of the experience… Go to Snapfish and use this account: email address = morgannebeck@hotmail.com; login = public. I've totally run out of ... read more

Roturua today to explore some HOT ROCKS! Wai-o-Tapu thermal wonderland to be precise plenty to see around here and ideal for a cold day. Stunk of rotten eggs though which you get used to after a 4 or 5 hours. Also saw a kiwi bird in the reserve and learnt about the maori. Popped into a sulphur thermal pool which is apparently good for your bones hence the reason im typing so fluently on this keyboard. ooo yes and nearly stood on a stick insect which gem managed to spot. (would put this on the top ten things to do in NZ) ... read more

In volcanic Rotorua - you smell the sulphur before you reach the town - we dove straight into Maori culture attending a hangi (Maori feast cooked in a buried earth oven) complete with scary Maori welcome (think the All Blacks haka with less clothes, more fire and sharp weapons) and a nightime visit to some natural sacred springs (home to various eels and trout). We also visited a village buried in the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera (which is still being excavated) and spent the best part of a day at the amazing Wai-O-Tapo thermal reserve (plopping and boiling mud pools, craters, steam and gas).... read more