Day 3, Feb 20, 2017, Monday: Thermal city Rotorua:
Rotorua, a town set on its namesake
lake on New Zealand's North Island, is renowned for its geothermal
activity and Maori culture. Located 230 km south of Auckland,
the name Rotorua comes from the Maori phrase Te
Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe which means “the second great lake of
Kahumatamomoe”. The town is located in a caldera.
It was formed some 200,000 years ago when a huge magma chamber
collapsed forming the 16 km wide caldera which is now filled with the
waters of Lake Rotorua.
[Volcanic craters are relatively small
and circular, while calderas can be almost any shape and tend to be
large. Craters form when volcanic ejecta emerges from an active site
and recedes into the subterranean magma chamber. Craters can remain
active for many years as multiple eruptions pass through them.
Calderas form at the end of a volcano's activity, as the magma
chamber beneath is exhausted. Once the underground chamber is empty,
the ceiling above it is unsupported and collapses forming
calderas. . This can happen explosively, with a sudden eruption that
blasts away the surface strata, or it can happen gradually as the
chamber drains.].
The area was first settled around 500
years ago by Maori who now make up nearly one-third of the region's
population which is nearly 70,000.
Europeans did not settle around the
area's geysers and mud pools until the 1880s and since then the whole
region has developed as a major tourist attraction.
There are a few options to view the
thermal activity and we chose the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland over
whakerewarewa.
Wai-O-Tapu (Sacred Waters)Thermal Wonderland
Located 31km south of Rotorua, the
Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland has thermal attractions and a number of
walks around the edges of geysers, mud pools and thermal ponds. The
pamphlet given with the ticket has useful info and the sights have
explanatory signboards too.
Nearby is the Lady Knox Geyser which
blows every morning at precisely 10.15am. Because of this timing,
there is no way we can explore a bit of the park which opens at 8.30
and then drive here. We drove to the main park, bought the tickets
and then drove to Lady Knox. Sat on benches set in an amphitheatre
which surrounds the geyser. A guide explains exactly how this precise
reliability is achieved and poured in the mixture which started off
the explosion... looked like school kid stuff and eminently missable.
But our time had already been wasted and we joined the crowds to view
the thermal attractions.
The 3 walks were all good, so no major
regrets. Could have given Lady Knox a miss and finished the board
walks without the crowds!
Then we drove to the “wonderland”
Mud Pool which is the remnant of a mud volcano and which bubbles
continuously.
Whakarewarewa Forest:
With the late start after Lady Knox, it
was already late afternoon. We ewnt back to our room and then drove to the 'The Redwoods', the
55,000ha Whakarewarewa Forest. [wha is pronounced pha]
There are several walks starting from the visitor center. We just had to pick one and follow the colored arrow. There were locals walking their dogs and jogging . We had a lovely time and regretfully wound up after one hike.
There is a paid treetop walk also.
Polynesian spa:
In the evening after our meal we went
to the Polynesian spa for a dip in their public pools.
The waters are
said to be therapeutic; it was pretty relaxing and with just a few
people at that time of the day. We took our own towels and a bottle
of water to be hydrated during the soak.It was great to see the
twinkling citylights and some stars in the sky.
We did not carry
coupons which give some discount, the girl told us to bring it the
next day if we can find them... we skipped, no big deal!
That was the end of our day, highlight being the huge Redwoods!
Day 4, Feb 21, 2017, Tuesday:
Rotorua Government Gardens:
We visited the lovely Government gardens in the morning. They have a map and explanations and it was interesting. We drove through, parked at different places and enjoyed the niches.
We spent some time at the Rotorua lake and had our picnic meal. Lots of cyclists and joggers...
Ohinemutu:
Then we drove toward Ohinemutu, the living Maori village
This is Saint Faith;s church and a lovely illusion ...
HAMURANA SPRINGS:
We then drove to Hamurana springs... a scenic drive; we missed the golf course cutting and overshot the mark. Turned around and it was interesting to see the origin of a spring bubbling up after a short walk through huge Redwoods!
Okere Falls, Tutea falls and Trout pools:
Okere Falls, Tutea falls and Trout pools were our next target and we drove on...Saw the first two... they were lovely;we hiked to the cave as well but path to Trout pools was blocked.
We drove back home and that was the end of our final day in Rotorua. The next day morning we had an early drive back to Auckland airport to return our car and catch the 12 noon flight to Christchurch!
Our day 5 at Christchurch and Day 6 driving through Arhturs Pass to Hokitika is covered here:
http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2017/03/new-zealand-trip-report-day-5.html
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