Whiffy Rotorua

Well, we've been in Auckland for a fortnight, so thought we deserved a holiday! First up - a NakedBus and NakedHostel (bit of a risky choice, but they luckily they turned out not to be naturists!) trip down to Rotorua.

It was brilliant, apart from the stench of rotten eggs which is hissing out of steam vents and bubbling up through boiling mud pools. Whiffy...

It was a welcome change from cold Auckland (many houses here don't have central heating or double glazing) whereas our hostel had boiling hot goethermal water piping through every room. Toasty!

Our first night was spent in the hostel's outside hot pool (how good is that for a hostel?!) before exploring the lake and town the next day. Here's a few photos of the lake front:

A crust of rock over bubbling pools -
obviously not allowed to walk on this!

Not sure if the lake is hot, but the swans like it!

Eggy smell = red noses

Rotorua is also a centre for Maori culture and spiritual significance - it was great to walk through the villages and see the longboats dragged up on to the shore, scattered amongst ceremonial houses and halls.

Maori carvings

Thermal ponds in the middle of town

After a day of walking and exploring in the smelliest town ever, we though we'd better jump in that water! If you can't beat them, join them and after 3 hours in the Polynesian Spa, we smelt just like the surroundings... Beautiful views from the pools over the lakes, as day turned to night.

Our next day was spent up in the Redwood Forest (Whakarewarea Forest, try saying that five times quickly!) The trees are huge, the tallest is at about 70m and they should grow up to 100m in time. Here's a few photos of our walk:

Leaves stopped from decaying in a sulphuric pool

Looking out to Rotorua, across the Geysers

There ain't any trees like this in England!

We can't wait to get back to Rotorua with a campervan - to explore some walks further in to the park and also the mountain luging on the outskirts of town. Sarah's getting extreme! Oh, and the world class mountain bike trails in the forest. This country really does feel like Nature's playground!

One thing we do need to learn is how to speak Kiwi!

The trip was slightly odd, as I spent the entire time wondering if I'd got the hospital job I applied for, checking my phone every 5 minutes! The good news is, I got it! Just need formalities to go through and I should get a start date pretty soon. And relax...