Rotorua

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,
Saturday, November 22, 2008

We have eschewed many of the numerous tourism opportunities available in Rotorua: downhill sledging, Maori culture shows, helicopter flights, tandem parachute jumps, zorbing (don't ask) and pedalos.


Instead, we visit Te Waioura, a village that was buried in mud in the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera. Most of the people escaped but four neighbouring villages nearer the eruption were totally destroyed with the loss of all hands. The Lonely Planet describes it as the Southern Hemisphere's Pompeii. The eruption was huge and blew the top off the mountain. People in Auckland 200km away thought that New Zealand was being fired upon by a Russian warship. If the same happened now, the effects would be catastrophic. It makes you realise how fragile your existence is. The village was buried in a mixture of ash and mud from the nearby lake. The dead were dug out at the time but the village was re-excavated starting in the 1930s to reveal all sorts of artefacts such as iron bedsteads, bottles of whisky and wine from the tourist hotel and childrens' shoes from the local schoolhouse. A very clear stream runs through the property with big trout and a waterfall. A short distance down the road there is a good view of Mount Tarawera over the lake.


Then we have an 11km walk in the Whakawerewa Forest, climbing a hill through introduced redwoods for a view back over the town and lake. There are a good number of well-marked mountain bike trails up and down the hillside and while we are there some poor fellow comes off, apparently fracturing his pelvis and puncturing his lung.
Happily we weren't involved.


We drive south of town to the Waikiti Valley Thermal Pools where the swimming pools are fed by boiling mineral waters cooled to 39deg C. They have a neighbouring campsite which allows free access to the bathing (Claire and Mikki note). One can have a private pool, and we do.


Back to Rotorua for an excellent meal at the Relish Cafe with some most satisfactory Mac dark beer. On the way, we pass a local (or at least he sounded Antipodean) looking at the menu for a restaurant specializing in meat served to your table to be heated on a hot stone :'I'm not going out to eat to have to bloody cook myself.'
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