Rotorua, New Zealand
In the morning, we woke up early and drove straight to Rotorua—a lakeside town about an hour inland from the coast. Rotorua is known for its geothermal activity, as the town sits on the caldera of a massive volcano that last erupted several thousand years ago. This volcanic activity makes the region home to several geysers, geothermal hot springs, bubbling mud pools, and sulphuric gas. And let me tell you—that sulphur smell is extremely strong. Our clothes likely still smell like rotten eggs, and it’s impossible to get used to that stench.
Rotorua is also famous for its Maori culture, as the city is one of the first places the Maori people settled in the 1300s when they arrived in New Zealand from Polynesia. As we learned during our time in Rotorua, a local tribe first traveled to New Zealand aboard waka (canoes), led by Tamateapua, their leader. Our Maori guide told us that these first Maori came ashore in the Bay of Plenty coastal region and then migrated inland.
When the Maori climbed a mountaintop near Rotorua to survey the area and determine where to settle, they saw two things: (1) a massive lake, and (2) smoke. And where there’s smoke, there’s people (or so they thought). The Maori soon discovered that the smoke rising from the earth was not fire, but rather a result of the earth bubbling and cooking beneath them.
Our first stop in Rotorua was Te Puia, home of the famous Pohutu geyser and Maori village of Whakarewarewa (pronunciation tip: in Maori, the “wh” sounds like an “f”). We could easily spot the geyser from the car park, but we stepped inside the Te Puia natural reserve to get a closer glimpse. The Pohutu geyser explodes several times a day, reaching 100ft high. Several smaller geysers surround it, some of which still erupt, and others of which have been dormant for many years due to drilling in the area. Pohutu erupted for us immediately, and we stood nearby, drinking in the steam billowing towards us and marveling at the heat radiating from the ground.
Matt and I spent several hours at Whakarewarewa, exploring the natural geothermal reserve, where we witnessed lava-like mud pools churning in the ground, sparkling “champagne” pools full of bubbling, crystal-clear water, red and pink and orange hot rocks, and boiling waterfalls splashing over into a steaming river encircling the park.
As we explored the park, we also took in the local Maori culture. We ate a traditional hangi meal, which is a meal of meat, root vegetables, and cabbage that is made by boiling the food in a geothermal hot spring.
We also witnessed a traditional Maori haka, explored the local village, and learned a few Maori phrases!
After we left the park, we drove just a few kilometers down the road to see something totally different—the massive Redwood trees of Whakarewarewa Forest. Originally it was our intent to merely take a tramp through the trees, but when we arrived, we spotted some bridges suspended in the trees high above our heads, so we decided to take a Tree Walk. The Tree Walk is a system of 23 suspension bridges through 115-year-old Redwood trees.
The tree walk ranges in height from 20 feet to 40 feet and gave us a bird’s eye view of the forest below, as well as an up-close experience with the Redwoods themselves. After we climbed down, we took a short, quiet stroll through the trees, stunned by their height, age, and greenery, and then drove back to town.
Our hotel in Rotorua was situated at the southern end of Lake Rotorua, so we took an afternoon stroll around the lake, gaping at its black swans and bright blue waters. We happened upon a Maori cemetery and eventually landed in the middle of downtown Rotorua, where we did some souvenir shopping for friends and family.
As you can imagine, these past few days have been exhausting. We had originally planned on visiting another volcanic area in the late afternoon, but pure weakness set in around 4pm, and we decided to (finally) do something relaxing: a soak in the geothermal pools at Waikite Valley Thermal Pools. Geothermal pools are a popular activity in Rotorua. The locals and tourists flock to these spas to bathe in hot pools sourced by the natural geothermal waters of the area. Waikite was an easy choice for us, since it offered six pools ranging in temperatures from lukewarm to hot hot hot, as well as a 15-minute walk to the geothermal spring that provides the water for the spa.
Matt and I soaked in these hot pools for two hours and left feeling totally recharged.After a fun dinner in downtown Rotorua, we headed back to the hotel to do laundry, eat crème brulee, and sleep!
