Quality Inn Geyserland Rotorua

... amazed by all the colours and various activity(smell was not great though). Really cool crystal formations around vent and the champagne pool was awesome. Bathed in kerosine creek hot springs and met a really nice kiwi family. Drove part way up Mt Tarawera, but turned back as the signs got more serious about private property. Made camp at Lake Rerewhakaaitu.

... south-east from Hobbiton, which is the main base for the thermal area of the central northern island. We walked around a few hydrogen-sulphide vents in a park in the town centre before going for a drive for a couple of hours to a couple of lakes. We also stopped by a buried village site, so named due to a volcanic eruption, but it was closed by the time we got there.

... we had to wait til we got to the car park, swerve round the queue, handbrake turn in the carpark and squeeze back down the track at top speed, , I jumped out outside the visitor centre while the van was still moving, rolled into a ball to land sprung up raced into the visitor centre to get the tickets (with TOP10 discount!) while Yvette screeched to a halt. I jumped back in as Yvette wheelspun back round back up ...

Onderweg naar Rotorua hebben we nog een opmerkzame gebied met enkele fantatische natuurfenomenen bezocht. Zie foto's. Rotorua is een speciaal stadje. Dit merk je vanaf dat je binnenrijdt, al was het maar voor de zwavelgeur die hier rondhangt. Rotorua is ook de plek om de Maori ...

... and the beak was at least a foot long! It slowly came closer and closer toward us (all the while sniffing for food) and then it walked under the boardwalk (right under our feet!) and out the other side! It was absolutely amazing and definitely the highlight of the trip so far. We decided it was time we had to start getting serious and looking for jobs but on the way down, we made one last stop in Rotorua ...

... trees and giant fern trees. Winding through the roads, at times the view would be obscured by the giant fern trees. They sort of look like someone took a small palm tree and placed a forrest fern on top of it. They almost look tropical. Half way through the bus ride we were approaching a town called Mata Mata and the landscape started resembling the Shire from Lord of the Rings. Sure enough, the tourist information office had a ...

... inflatable ball, and then roll down the hill, the ball we were in was filled with some water, warm of course! It only lasts about a minute, but it was lots of fun. Unfortunately you do get completly soaked! On our first night here in Rotorua, we decided to go to a Maori cultural night. We had 2 choices, and the hostel manager recommended us to do one of them that was run by a family, so we went with that company. They picked you up at around 6pm ...

... in the car we set off for Rotorua, which I remember being interesting if rather smelly, on account of the thermal mud pools &amp; geysers for which the town is famous. <br><br>Under 2 hours later we could see Lake Rotorua, and a few minutes later we were in the town centre, hunting out a holiday park where we planned to stay tonight. <br><br> <br><br>We chose a nice ...

... wer* erupted on 10th June 1886, destroying five vill*ges, killing 150 people *nd sh*ttering the terr*ces, covering them in *sh *nd submerging them bene*th * newly-enl*rged l*ke. So it w*s the Buried Vill*ge *nd museum for us; I've not yet got to Pompeii but this w*s definitely *n *ccept*ble *ltern*tive.<br><br>We've now been *w*y from home for over three months; so we were very ple*sed when home c*me to us, *s we m*n*ged to meet up ...

We left Waitomo in the morning heading for Rotorua. On the way we stopped at theWaiotapu geothermal area. it was pretty cool, I really liked champagne lake and its ochre ring. When we arrived in Rotorua I went to a traditional dinner called a Hangi. It was very interesting, they started by performng traditional Maori dances and rituals. This was followed by the meal which is cooked in the ground.