Hello All,
EventsHub road trip across New Zealand is going ahead and we left beautiful Mount Maunganui behind us and began our journey towards Rotorua to visit Te Puia (www.tepuia.com). Driving through the road we were enjoying stunning views all around us. Jaguar XJ is an amazing cruising car, so we didn’t event feel tired through our way. The green meadows slowly changed more rocky grounds as we were approaching to Rotorua.
Rotorua located in an active geothermal area, so, there are plenty of geysers placed around the town. We entered the town late afternoon and it was quite dark, so, we noticed steam raising up from a lake. I attached pictured of the lake, how we saw it that night, however, it is not possible to capture the actual feeling on any camera. This place called Lake Kuirau.
It felt warm around the lake and the warning signs telling us, that the water temperature in the lake could be as high as 100 degrees Celsius. I didn’t dare to check it… The vapor was condensing of the threes above us and water was constantly dropping down from the leaves and branches. To be honest, it felt like we were on a different planet.
At the night, we checked in to Ibis Rotorua Hotel, which was good for the price. They offered us late dinner and a good breakfast in the morning. There were some music instruments adjacent the reception area, but I didn’ t notice them… What a pity…
In the morning we enjoyed some SPA at Wai Ariki Hot Springs (www.wai-ariki.co.nz), there was scenic view to the lake and nice pools. This place is worth to visit, if you have some free time in Rotorua, a good way to relax after a long drive and get your skin filled with minerals from the water. I noticed very interesting walk there with the water level approx. 10cm, however, the bottom is covered by different shapes rocks and walking through the walk with bare feet fells amazing.
The next point on the map was at Te Puia (www.tepuia.com), which is a place where tourists can experience Maori culture and geysers at the same time. It is very important to book your experience in advance and stick to your time booked, as we have missed part of the Maori culture as came late. Anyway, we experienced the geyser valley called Te Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley, seen kiwi birds and learn a lot about Maori traditional arts and crafts institute. Our friendly guide, who was born and grew up there explained us a lots of stories, how Maori tribes in the past were using geothermal energy for hearing and cooking, as well, as how the local hot clay was helping them to protect themselves from unwanted guests. . I can’t even explain the geysers themselves, this place is a hundred percent must visit, I posted some more photos there for you to enjoy.
At the end of our experience, we visited a gift shop and bought a lot of stuff there… But this is another story which is too long to tell here.
To be continued…
Thanks for reading,
Best regards, Alex.
EventsHub team.