Sunday was another beautiful day in New Zealand, summer is getting real close. We are still getting adjusted to the temperature difference between direct and indirect sun light. Put in on, take it off.
We had planned to have a real lazy day and as a result we didn't get away until noon. Check out is 10 AM in most parks but we were given permission to stay a little longer as they are not real busy yet.
Once we did get on the road we preceded right to Rotorua. We had planned to detour into Mt. Tarawera and hike to the top to get a view of this dormant Volcano. However we found out that the mountain is now privately owned and the route to hike up is inaccessible. The only way is by guided tours and we were not interested.
We did manage to get a closer look at Mt. Edgecumbe on our drive.
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| Mt. Edgecumbe |
Once we got to Rotorua we hit the I Site and got more information on the area before heading to the Holiday Park Campsite. We spent the rest of the afternoon just relaxing. I did manage to spend some time on the blog and almost got myself caught up. We did find enough enery for an early evening walk before calling it a night.
Monday morning we had to get going as we had an appointment at the Ford Dealership. We are having a few minor problems with the van. The people at the dealership were really great and got us in and out of there pretty quick. It was appreciated.
This gave us time to drive down to the lake and see what it is all about. We are at the very south end of Lake Rotorua and it is where the tour boats, jet boats, sea planes and helicopters work from.
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| Lake Rotorua |
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| Start of the Walkway |
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| Family of Black Swans close to shore |
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| Little Shag |
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| Lake Rotorua |
We found a walkway so we started walking. It went east along the shore until it came to Sulphur Point and subsequently Sulphur Bay.
At this point we started to see a bit of Thermal Activity. We also saw this sign.
We thought it might be best if we stayed to the walking path as we passed through the Thermal Area. Even with staying on the path you could hear the noise from the underground water and mud bubbling and boiling.
There were two thermal pools that we a little different and so were the people who used them. Early European arrivals to Rotorua visited these pools for their therapeutic qualities. Bathers were said to have tied a rope to Manuka bushes and suspended themselves in the dark brown waters of the “Coffee Pot”. Named for its thick coffee color, the “Coffee Pot” smelt bad and left a stain on the skin.
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| The Coffee Pot |
The other pool is the “ Laughing Gas Pool “ which apparently produced Hydrogen Sulphide and Carbon Dioxide gases. This produced a similar reaction to a Dentists laughing gas, nitrous oxide. Peal after peal of uncontrollable laughter could be heard coming from people using the pool. It also caused light headiness and fainting. Not a good idea while in a very hot pool.
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| Laughing Gas Pool |
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| Even Kathy can't control herself. |
We didn’t walk all the way around the bay as it was quite large. In fact most of the thermal area is in this part of New Zealand and it is called the Taupo Volcanic Zone. It is a narrow belt of activity, only 20 – 40 km wide, but spans a distance of 240 km from Ohakune, south of Mt Ruapehu, to White Island. It includes the Rotorua Volcanic Centre, where we are currently staying and Taupo Volcanic Centre, where we are headed to next. If you hear a big boom south of you, send help.
On the way back to the van we cut through a park and came upon a totem pole that Kathy though looked familiar. It had a very similar look to the totem poles we had seen in Alaska and Northern British Columbia last year.
As it turns out, this particular totem pole was actually gifted to New Zealand from the Government of
Canada. It was carved by Tony Hunt of the Kwagulth First Nations people of Fort Rupert and Kingcome Inlet, British Columbia.
Once we got back to the van we headed back to the park for the evening. We hit the hot tub for a period before having dinner and relaxing for the rest of the evening.
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