Travellers Motor Lodge Rotorua

... 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 ...

... Rotorua, where we gave the tourism center a visit. There we looked through brochures and went through the gift shop where we came across some interesting gifts (I'm gonna keep this PG, so I won't get into details). Robert has been dying to buy a stuffed animal Kiwi, and he bought the cutest one for a cheap 30 NZD. We then headed over to the help desk where the nice old lady helped ...

... to like it even as we reached its outer limits. There were all kinds of houses (from shacks to manors) spread out on big blocks, lots of farmland and more tractor dealerships than made sense - it was everything I remember and love of rural Australia, but green instead of brown and red. OH, and it stank to high heaven. Turns out no one exaggerated when they warned me about that. But it was ok. I figured on getting used to it...<br><br>The bus dropped us ...

... then walked aorund the village they had built to demonstrate how they used to live. We had a huge traditionally cooked feast afterwards of meats and fish cooked in the ground. It was so delicious!! We went Luging, where you zoom down a winding track in a small (and very simple) go kart type thing (see photo's!) it was great fun although you had to get a gondala back up the mountain to the top and we froze as it took about 10 mintues to get there!!

... there was a huge outdoor TV and an outside pool and loads of screaming kids. Not quite what I had imagined. There was a christian rock band practising when we arrived - that was exactly what we imagined, in fact Jack guessed thats what it was. We wondered if they had set up there to protect people from hell's gate? they also had goats there which I always think are a bit demonic. One had escaped and reared up at me by the campavan.

... through song and dance which are translated for us. We see displays of weapony and a finale where their haka is performed. The performances are all spirited and intense. Then it's time to eat and the food is delicious. After dinner we go on a short bush walk to see the glow worms and eel in the stream. This last bit feels a bit rushed as they ferry us back to our hostels. This is a well oiled machine but does, despite its commercialism, manage to retain a sense of authenticty.

... us with entertainment, and a cat for company. That night we abseiled down about 40m into a crevasse that provided a perfect environment for glow worms. Our first abseil down was at twilight, so that we could get our bearings, while the second was lit by millions of glow worms, providing a full 360, starlight experience. It truly felt like we were in a fairy wonderland, or some galaxy far far away! On the advice of our guide, we headed down to the ...

... caramel "slice" that was delicious.  Based on the raspberry "slice" I had on the way down, I've decided that "slice" is one of my new favorite desserts.  I just hope there are recipes on the internet under "slice" because I don't really know the word for what exactly it is a slice of.  If you base it on the number of pictures I took, we had already done more in just that morning than we had done most other full days.  But the day was far from over.  We headed out to ...

... really ****** this morning in Taupo and I was afraid I wouldn't make it back in time to catch the Magic Bus which actually got to the YHA earlier rather than later. Instead I walked towards the lake front and went to a sweet cafe called the Lava Rock Cafe or something along those lines. The hot chocolate I had there was AWESOME! Definitely chocolatey, served in a pretty unique glass, 2 marshmallows, good froth, and not too milky. Now I'm in Rotorua, not sure what to do because it's rainy ...

Dirty stinky oul town more like cause it was a place where there were lots of thermal activity in the ground and there was sulphurous gas all over the town. Was a savage stink of eggs around the town not to mention the hostel room when we got set up there. We stayed in one place then moved the next night cause it was such a stink hole. We were meant ...