Auckland to Rotovegas

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Polly:

We left Becky & Tom's for the second time on Monday morning and headed south. We got to Waitomo just after lunch and visited the glowworm caves. No cameras are allowed inside the caves so unfortunately Ross only managed to get a few pics before he got sprung by another group's guide. I think the flash was a bit of a give-away. You walk down into caves which are full of stalagmites & stalagtites, then take a short boat ride on an underground river. When they switch the lights off, the cave ceiling is illuminated with thousands of flourescent dots, kind of like a starry night, but a bit greener. When the lights were turned back-on again, you could just make out fine silk-like string hanging from the ceiling. They use these to catch their food.

That afternoon, we headed down to Rotorua (aka Rotovegas). As we got nearer to Rotorua the smell of sulphur from the geothermal pools gets stronger and we started giving each other accusatory glances. But it soon gets so potent that only an elephant would be capable of such a stinker, and we both let each other off the hook. We found a little campsite, hooked up to the electric and stayed for 2 nights.

Rotorua is a geothermal area located along an active volcanic band which runs in line with Mt Ruapehu and the White Island, with hot bubbling springs and pools of hot mud dotted around everywhere. Apparently, 30 years ago it was a free natural wonder, but now everyone has caught on to this and it's a bit of a goldmine for the locals. We had a couple of thermal pools at our campsite (like naturally heated jacuzzis), but we also visited the Polynesian Spa which has 9 different pools, each with different healing properties, some alkaline and some fed from an acidic Radium spring. The spa looks out over the Sulphur Bay area of Lake Rotorua, a former volcanic crater.

On the second day in Rotorua we went up the Skyline gondola to the luging centre in the morning. It was really fun, though slightly more leisurely than the boys' previous trip in Auckland. In the afternoon we wondered around the thermal park in the town (which was actually free!) then I went for a massage. Tough day!

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Photos

The Luge - Round 2
The Rotorua luge track. I had to have another go for Polly's sake.

Waltz speeding
"HURRY UP WOMAN!"

Pol on the luge
...catching flys!

Steamy walkway
Public park in Rotorua