Funky Green Voyager Rotorua

Before we left the States Amy kept prodding me to let her bring an iphone or crackberry. I adamantly put my foot down, it's done. The last thing I wanted wasto be constantly connected to email, 24/7. I finally broke down.Amy and I came to an understanding Say hello to our little friend, the Asus Eee pc. We paid $381usd at Dick's Electronics, and it's worth every penny. We are converts to this mini computer, and it's Linux operating system. Just as I have feared though, I have barely left my h...

Sunday morning was really dull and overcast and the heavens opened as I made my way across the country from Hamilton to Rotorua. However, the adverse weather conditions helped to keep me awake as I was feeling distinctly drowsy and was tempted to pull in but I soldiered on. Rotorua is known for it's thermal and volcanic physical features and for the related smell of sulphur around the town and sure enough it was very noticeable straight away. I checked in to the Funky Green Voyager Backpacker...

03/02/09: Arrivée à Rotorua en début d'après-midi. Rotorua est une ville située dans la région Central Plateau. C'est la zone volcanique de la Nouvelle-Zélande. Ainsi, lorsque je descends du bus, je sais que sous mes pieds, à plusieurs kilomètres de profondeur, la plaque pacifique s'enfonce sous la plaque indo-australienne. Cette zone de subduction fait la richesse de la région : de magnifiques lacs et montagnes, de nombreux volcans, toutes sortes de phénomènes intrigants liés à l'activité gé...

Vanuit Pukekohe nam ik om 7.30 de bus naar Papakura, om daar op de intercity bus te stappen. Lara en ik namen voor de zoveelste keer deze reis afscheid. In Papakura had ik even tijd voor een kopje koffie tijdens het wachten en toen was ik werkelijk weer onderweg. Zittend in de bus had ik enorm veel "ohja" momenten. De bussen in Australie hadden een tv voorin en een toilet en waterfles achterin: de bussen hier zijn niet zo luxe, maar de buschauffeur vertelt, als je geluk hebt, het een en ander...

Daar was ik dan, in Rotorua, een plek die op niemands lijstje ontbreken mag. Omdat deze stad op de breuklijnen van verschillende platen ligt, staat het bekend om zijn thermische parken, met alle bezienswaardigheden die daarbij horen. Geisers, modderpoelen, meren met bijzondere kleuren en de uitstoot van sulfer uit de grond, het hoort er allemaal bij. De geur die daarbij hoort wordt door het laatste veroorzaakt en, met de juiste wind, ruik je die door de hele stad. Rotten-rua is dan ook geen v...

Amanda: After our week in the Northland, we drove all the way back down past Auckland, then through to Hamilton to crash for the night in a motel. Before we turned in for the night, we had dinner at a great Thai place in town called.... "The Original Thai Restaurant" -- kinda catchy, eh? The reason I mention this place is that I had the best Thai food of my life there. It was (big surprise) pork-based, called Crispy Pork Curry. Little cubes of succulent pork tossed in a light spicy coconut mi...

Left Napier and drove 3 hours inland (stopping at Lake Taupo on the way) to Rotorua, famous for its geothermal activity - hot springs, geysers, sulphur emissions etc, there is a real sulphurous rotten eggy smell in the air. Booked into nice little hostel - the funky green voyager. Next day, we took a look at the lake, and went to watch some people zorbing (rolling down a hill in a large inflatable ball). Later that eve, we went to a Hangi - a bit touristy but good fun. It was based in a Maori...

So, jetzt kommt hierzu endlich mal eine Story... es lag also nicht an dir, Mama, dass du hier nix lesen konntest. Wir sind einfach noch nicht dazu gekommen, was zu schreiben.
Wir waren also 5 Tage in Rotorua, der Stadt mit der groessten geothermalen Aktivitaet. Deshalb auch die faulen Eier, denn es stinkt echt ekelhaft da. Man gewoehnt sich aber dran. Und es ist schon total toll, ueberall sind heisse Quellen und kochender Schlamm. Auch einen Geysir haben wir gesehen. So eine faszinierende ...

Wed 21st May - We got a lift to Rotorua with Gal from our hostel. We checked into our hostel, run by a really funny guy and his wife and cute baby, and then we headed off to the Kiwi Encounter. This is a programme designed to help kiwi populations increase by breeding them in captivity and then releasing them back into the wild when they are between 6 and 9 months and weigh at least 1kg - too heavy to be targeted by stoats and other animals looking for food. The programme has increased the su...

Jump to see the pictures in New Zealand: Part I Jump to see the pictures in New Zealand: Part II Jump to see the pictures in New Zealand: Part III After one night back in Auckland I head down south. There is not much to do in Auckland to stay for. I take the bus to Rotorua and on the way the bus makes a stop at the Waitomo caves. That is where you can see the glow worms in the caves. What a view! These small worms living in the cave glow in the dark! We get on a boat in the cave and it is lik...