A faint whiff of sulphur

Trip Start Oct 01, 2008
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Trip End Dec 30, 2009


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Where I stayed
Jack and Di's Troutbeck Lodge
(Rotorua hotels)

Flag of New Zealand  , North Island,
Friday, November 21, 2008

First stop Waihi where the town was founded around a gold seam. The Martha goldmine was underground at first and became uneconomical in the 1950s. Better methods of gold extraction from ore meant that it was reopened in 1988 as an open cast mine. As a result there is a huge pit in the middle of this town. The company only recovers 3g gold for every ton of rock that they dig out. There is a neighbouring underground mine that recovers 11g/ton.


Then we drive onto Rotorua by a circuitous route, mainly because I (A) won't listen to instructions. Our accommodation is outside the main town on the shore of Lake Rotorua. It is a room in a house with a shared kitchen and isn't really what we expected but it is clean and quite comfortable.


Rotorua itself is strange. There are a lot of motels, hotels, bars, restaurants and government offices in the centre but relatively few other shops. I think that they have all moved to out of town malls. The big draw is the thermal springs and the fact that it is a centre for Maori culture. There is a sulphorous smell to the place. We walk in Kuirau park and admire the bubbling mud and steaming pools.


In the evening, we enjoy bangers and mash at the Fat Dog Cafe. Recommended.
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