Little Lolly's Small Adventures: Rotorua

A snapshot of our whereabouts today but not the actual road route

Today we visited Hell's Gate? Eh? 😳 Fortunately it is not the biblical hell. It is a geothermal area not far from from our hotel. I have been there on a ship's tour as tour escort but tours are usually rushed so I was glad to visit the area with Paul at a more leisurely pace. We were able to see the whole geothermal area for a change, rather than half of it - as has been the case. There were hot springs, bubbling mud pots, hot steam vents and a sacred river, the river water being hot. The area had a pungent and permeating smell of sulphur but once we got to the river area where there was plenty of trees - the sulphur smell disappeared. The trees absorbed the smell and their trunks and branches had turned an orange/rusty colour over time.

After our walk around the geothermal area we went to the mud spa area. We smeared ourselves in sulphurous mud and soaked in a hot spring pool for a bit (this part was timed for about 20 minutes per session). After that we rinsed off the mud and went to another hot spring pool and relaxed until it was time to dry off and go for our massage. The therapists were good - no pain, no gain - ironing out any muscle knots in our backs and legs. But it was worth it. Painful but we felt very relaxed and tired afterwards.

We headed in a meandering manner to our next lodgings, Rotorua Farm Stay which is just over half an hour drive in south-westerly direction from Rotorua. Unfortunately we overshot the farm because the GPS on the satnav was accurate but not quite accurate enough. We turned around, used another satnav programme and found the farm which is, I gather, more of a smallholding rather than a large farm with a horse, a few sheep, cockerels and hens with their chicks, ducks and a dog.

Our host warmly welcomed us, as did her young son, and showed us to our room and offered to show us around the property. It was getting late and we were very tired so we declined and will maybe take up her offer another day. Our host's husband arrived home from work a bit later on and we were able to meet him before we headed to bed.

Although we have showered, we stink of sulphur. It will take a while for it make its way out of our skin. Oh well.

Tomorrow is another day.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Panoramic view

Having got all muddied in the sulphur mud spa and then nearly finished
washing it off, Paul realised that the video camera had been pointing in the
wrong direction... He's not trying to hide anything with his hand, just adjusting
the camera for a bit of video footage.

Hot spring pool to relax in with a good view of the geothermal area

A snapshot of our whereabouts today, not the actual road routes.

Wowee, we are stiff and sore!

We pulled ourselves together, get of our bums and do something energetic. On doing a bit of research, we found a high ropes course not too far from where we are staying, 'Adrenalin Forest' (http://www.adrenalin-forest.co.nz/bay-of-plenty)

Fortunately we didn't have to wear safety helmets during the high ropes course! We had a great time, each high wire course getting more difficult. There was a family of four that started at the same time as us and start first on the first course. When we got to the start of the second course we asked if we could go ahead of them (we moved faster than their group) and they were fine with it. I managed five of the six courses, my muscles were too jellified to do the last one. Paul did well by completing four. We noticed that very few people went beyond three courses.

We decided to look for a waterfall and river to swim in but when we found one - the walking distance vs starting time/return time was not good and we would get back late. So we may go tomorrow. On the map there was another waterfall that wasn't too far away but the map was wrong - there was no waterfall.

We drove via the back roads to Rotorua and treated ourselves to a mug of hot chocolate at Fancy Meow Cafe (http://fancymeowcatcafe.co.nz/) where we interacted with .... CATS! We had to remove our shoes in the reception area and then walked through two locked doors to get to the cafe and cats. There were different sorts of pure bred cats and we could interact with them if they were up to it (cats have their own agenda!). The atmosphere was very relaxed but we expected a bit more options to order from the cafe. Anyway, we enjoyed a bit of purr therapy.

After the cat therapy we walked around a public park and dipped our feet in a hot spring foot bath, joining others seated around 2 foot baths in the park. It was nice and relaxing but very smelly from the sulphur.

We finished the day off with a delicious meal at a Mexican restaurant before heading back to the hotel.

Time for a well earned hot bath and bed!

PHOTOGRAPHS

Adrenalin Forest