Day 37: Rotorua, New Zealand

I would like to start this entry by sincerely thanking Archana & Richard for allowing us to be part of their around the world trip. If it weren't for them we would never have gotten this far around the world ourselves. After spending two weeks with us they have continued their journey further south in New Zealand to the city of Napier (wine country), while we are spending one more day in Rotorua before heading to Australia tomorrow.

Archana & Richard - thank you very much for everything. I hope we weren't too much of a pain in the ass to spend time with. We really really really enjoyed our time with you both and want you to know that we truly appreciate allowing us to spend so much time with you during your big trip. Thank you!

From here on I will warn readers that this entry is going to get scientific. I probably won't even get all of this right but I'll try to shed some light on what the deal is in Rotorua.

First of all Rotorua ("Second Lake" in Maori) is an attraction for the fact that the Indian and Pacific plates grind against each other underneath the country here and in 1886 there was a massive volcanic eruption. The main draw here is the geothermal activity that continues along this plate line with geysers, bubbling mud pools, boiling streams and lakes. Estimates say that this area will have a major eruption at some point in the future. All very different from Easter Island which contained extinct volcanoes. As you drive down the street here it is common to see steam randomly rising from various points on the side of the road.

Okay, so being that Archana & Richard needed to catch a 1pm bus to Napier we left the hotel at 8am to get some sights in. The first stop was Waimangu Volcanic Valley. The first 1.5km of the trail packs the main attractions here (Frying Pan Lake & the Inferno Crater). Frying Pan Lake is the worlds largest hot spring with an average temperature of 131 degrees F (55 C).



Along the way to the Inferno Crater there are other small boiling streams and scenic spots.



The Inferno Crater Lake is a beautiful pale blue color and has a bizarre 40-ish day tide cycle, which overflows at high tide down the hill. The water is highly acidic (like most of the water in this area).




Here is some more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waimangu_Volcanic_Rift_Valley

The second stop was the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland with a focus on seeing a geyser that is "encouraged" to erupt each morning at 10:15am.



We then walked through the park to see other interesting geothermal formations.






And of course the world's largest bubbling mud pool!!





Here is some more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wai-O-Tapu

After lunch and saying goodbye to our Archana & Richard, Ilana and I decided to rest our weary bones in the Polynesian Spa nearby that has pools warmed by the geothermal activity underneath the city.




And the day didn't stop there, we went back to the Rotorua museum to catch a film we missed yesterday on the Maori battalion that fought in WWII.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_Battalion

Sorry for the long blog today, had a lot going on, and I have to admit, this place can really f&*k%(g stink with all the sulfur in the air. Here is a picture of Archana & Ilana trying to walk quickly through a mist of stinky sulfur fog.



FJ

TJ & Christopher - we are definitely going to ride the bullet train and will take some photos for you. I will post them on the internet for you as soon as I can! We have our Japan Rail Passes all set to go!!