Tauranga & Rotorua

The town of Tauranga wasn't spectacular so we spent one night there and headed to Rotorua the next morning. Much of the waterfront of Tauranga was under construction so aside from cafés and shops- there was not much to see. It was also low tide that morning so The Bay of Plenty wasn't so plentiful! Once we were on our way to Rotorua, I looked through brochures for an activity. We stopped for some gas on our way there and was shocked to learn that gas is pumped before you pay in this country. Crazy right?! They really trust their citizens round here!

Our first stop was a thermal park that we saw as we were driving into town. The first whiff we got once we stepped out of the car was sulphuric & reminiscent of rotten eggs- not pleasant at all. After a few minutes, it went away (or we just got used to it!). :P Anyway, it was pretty neat to see steam flowing out from thermal deposits in the ground! Unfortunately, P and I were both feeling a little sick so we decided to take it easy at a Polynesian Spa. After all, it was voted one of the Top 10 International Spa's in the world! It was fairly affordable so we paid $34 a pop to relax in their thermal pools. Every pool there had a view of Lake Rotorua & it was relaxing indeed!!! Just what we needed after a few active days being explorers!! The only downside was they don't provide you towels or amenities. I thought this was silly especially considering their world ranking! We left after a few hours and headed for a campsite to charge up for the chilly night! It was one of the coldest nights yet.. The grass at our camp spot was frozen and so was the water to fill up our supply! Fortunately, the sun came out and we got to fill up before heading back into town. 

Once back in Rotorua, we tucked into a cafe and had some of the best coffee ever. I also had a delicious date & walnut muffin. I'm just loving the goods they have round here- ginger, figs and dates are among them. These are common ingredients around here! Funny enough, I used to cringe at those exact things as a kid but appreciate them so much now!  Afterwards, we shopped for some souvenirs, visited a Maori Art Gallery and headed out of town to an attraction called The Buried Village of Te Wairoa. On our way there, we stopped at Blue Lake and took in the views. Pure beauty! Once we made it to the village, we took the self-guided tour. This attraction is unique because it is the actual location of a village that partially became covered in mud after a volcanic eruption in 1886. This eruption also created Lake Rotomahana which you'll see in the pix. We got to roam around the grounds with Thomas (the IPod guide ;)) and came across the old wooden huts of villagers and even some sheep. One of the huts belonged to a tohunga* who had predicted the eruption! The story goes that 4 days before the eruption, a nearby Lake Terawera tour guide and tourists saw a phantom canoe with peddlers that had the heads of dogs. The old man predicted that this was a negative omen indeed and urged the town to prepare for disaster. The eruption that buried about 150 people alive happened shortly after!! Creepy right?!! Anyway, a trout stream was a highlight and the best part was a 30m waterfall! Me oh my!! 

After about an hour there, we took off for the next attraction: Waimangu Volcanic Valley which was on the way to Lake Taupo (NZ's largest lake). We stopped at Green Lake down the road which as you'll see in pix, is directly opposite of Blue Lake. The color contrast is not that apparent but the green does appear slightly darker than blue. The big difference is Blue Lake offers kayaking etc. & Green Lake is completely preserved by the Maori so no touchy-touchy! We drove about 30 mins to our next attraction only to find we had missed the cut-off for the last tour. Boo! I was really looking forward to craters and as described in the brochure, "a newly-formed earth". Hah! Luckily, the road up and down was filled with plenty of sheep, elk and cows. That was quite the sight! 

So after the let-down, we drove off to Lake Taupo. On the way there we pulled into a glass-blown gallery which was neat. Many unique pieces with a hefty price tag! This Lava Glass gallery also offered lodging and classes. 

Once we made it to Lake Taupo, we were in for another bummer. Bad planning & poor weather has stopped us from one of our most lusted activities- The Tongariro Crossing. This 6-8 hour hike is not treacherous but due to it's location and altitude, weather conditions can become extreme within minutes! We came prepared with gear but have learned that wind speeds of 70km on the track have deterred shuttles from even heading that route. We've called just about every shuttle service! So we are currently kicking ourselves for not checking the weather and making this the first stop after Auckland! It had been sunny & decent earlier this week! Whining aside, unless the weather gods are good to us our last couple days here in NZ and the forecast looks up, we won't be risking our little lives! 

Aroha, MD 

*Tohunga- Maori village practitioner of a skill

Aroha- love