Thermal Stay B&B Rotorua

Wow - this Luge I never grow old of......we did it when we had a bunch of guys down for our wedding in 2001, and then again brent & I did it in '07, but this never grows old!

Picture yourself on a plastic sled, hurtling down a mountain at 45mph and you are close to the thrill of the Rotorua Luge! It's so much fun......check out some pics attached, and you'll get the idea.

... We had to shell out a couple of bucks to walk around the whole place but as it turns out we would pay a much bigger price with our noses. No one gave us the warning that pools of acidic water smelled like a mixture of expired milk and uncooked chicken. The thermal areas themselves were beautiful, but in some spots the smell was entirely unbearable, to the point where Peter was 99% sure he was going to lose his lunch. The air wasn't just smelly, it was ...

... Amanda that night.

First though was a jaunt to the Polynesian spa. I didn't feel like sitting in warm water with a dozen strangers so I bought a metric tonne of mud and some presents for folks back home while Amanda sampled the thermal waters. We had another quick squiz around town, got some coffee into me and then headed to the bar.

This time the place was nearly deserted - we guessed the Kiwi Experience bus must have pulled out of town that morning - but ...

... with hunky. At this point, Keith decided to get some beer. Overall it was a fantastic experience and Niamh can’t wait to see New Zealand playing rugby and doing the Haka so she can join in. (I think she wants to be a Kiwi)

From here it was up to Auckland for our flight to Adelaide. There was nothing much to be done here, partly because it was the swine flu capital of New Zealand when we were there!

... South Island, then driving through the picturesque vineyards to Nelson and our two days in Abel Tasman. The natural beauty was beyond words and the hiking/kayaking trip and meeting the folks at Torrent Bay lodge was a highlight. Overall, the most special memory ...

... the strong stench of rotten eggs (sulphur)... The bedroom, the streets, the bathroom, the kitchen, restaurants, inside cars... It is truly amazing!!! Now before anyone worries... The place is MEANT to smell like that (not that that makes it any more enjoyable really, but ok...) Rotorua is in an area with lots of thermal activity. Volcanoes, bubbling mud and hot springs are all over the place. And the hot air and water that comes from deep DEEP underground contains a lot of sulphur ...

... amp; watched,cowards yes we were, but we could imagine both evie & michael being up there with evie screaming but enjoying it,next it was to the park next door learing all about the animal kiwi's, these were almost extinct at one time & are classed as a mammal,they cannot see but can smell at the end of their beaks, small holes for their ears & no feathers, they have very strong legs, & mate the same female for life, the male also sits on the egg, when the chick ...

... running a programme of repatriating land to the Maoris and this continues with apace today and special courts are in place to oversee this. First item on the agenda was a visit to the Skyline cable cars (or gondolas) and a ride up to the top of one of the local hills to get a good view of Rotorua and an appreciation of the lake that goes by the same name and which surrounds this town ...

... spa where i got to lounge around in natural thermal pools and sweated immensely, they were SO hot, i was a wimp and had to get out of the hottest one and go to a cooler one. Before i left i did however have a aix massage (or something lie that) where you get a full body massage as you lie under jets of water. Glorious it was, just what the doctor ordered.

... fed by water from the thermal Rotorua Lake...
again, think of the faint smell of rotten eggs we've not gotten so used
to in the whole area by now. But the pool was nice and hot, in
comparison to the cold drizzling rain on our faces- a feeling all too
familiar from the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. I came to conclusion that the ...