Rotorua is only 1.5 hrs drive up north from Taupo and is part of the volcanic band that ran across North Island from Taupo to Whakatane. 2 things I noticed once I arrived there: (1) the air had the stench of rotten eggs and (2) there were considerable presence of Maori culture compared to other towns I’ve been before. (1) is because there were plenty of sulphur at Rotorua and (2) Rotorua is a cultural tourist centre of NZ. If one would like to see Maori culture but have limited time, this is the place to go. One can see and experience kapahaka (Maori dance), powhiri (greeting ritual) and tangi (feast) at the Maori village located just on the outskirt of Rotorua. I didn’t go there because I had enough of Maori culture after 4 years here in NZ. :D Anyway, we stayed at the Funky Voyager backpacker, a Rotorua backpacker accommodation which had the highest BBP rating. The facilities were good and the managers were really friendly too. We went to:
(1) Rainbow Springs & Kiwi Encounters: a nature park displaying what NZ jungle has to offer. Also, this is where we got to see the Kiwi bird, an almost extinct bird that NZ has adopted as one of it national icon.
(2) Wai-O-Tapu: Has hot water pool, geyser (we missed this as we arrive 1 hour late from its usual time of eruption – 10am), terraces (silica rocks in a river-like formation – this can form rice paddy-like formation and creates ladder water pools), mineral pool (coloured water pool), fumaroles and mud pools. (second bottom photo)
(3) Waimangu Volcanic Valley: Arrived beyond 6 pm so was not allowed to enter but from the outside looked really lovely. This is the site of a volcanic eruption that destroyed surrounding villages during the 1800s. (top photo: top-left is one of the farm surrounding the valley)
(4) Burried Village: A preserved excavation site of one of the village that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption during the 1800s (top photo: bottom-left)
(5) Blue Lake, Green Lake and Lake Tarawera: top photo: top-right
(6) Redwoods: A park where Californian Redwoods were planted. These were massive tree (height up to 30 meters and diameter of main trunk up to 1.6m). In NZ, these trees grew much faster than those in their native land. (top photo: bottom-right is the fern bush located on the outskirt of this park) (first bottom photo: me standing underneath an average size Redwood).
Next stop is Whakatane.
(1) Rainbow Springs & Kiwi Encounters: a nature park displaying what NZ jungle has to offer. Also, this is where we got to see the Kiwi bird, an almost extinct bird that NZ has adopted as one of it national icon.
(2) Wai-O-Tapu: Has hot water pool, geyser (we missed this as we arrive 1 hour late from its usual time of eruption – 10am), terraces (silica rocks in a river-like formation – this can form rice paddy-like formation and creates ladder water pools), mineral pool (coloured water pool), fumaroles and mud pools. (second bottom photo)
(3) Waimangu Volcanic Valley: Arrived beyond 6 pm so was not allowed to enter but from the outside looked really lovely. This is the site of a volcanic eruption that destroyed surrounding villages during the 1800s. (top photo: top-left is one of the farm surrounding the valley)
(4) Burried Village: A preserved excavation site of one of the village that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption during the 1800s (top photo: bottom-left)
(5) Blue Lake, Green Lake and Lake Tarawera: top photo: top-right
(6) Redwoods: A park where Californian Redwoods were planted. These were massive tree (height up to 30 meters and diameter of main trunk up to 1.6m). In NZ, these trees grew much faster than those in their native land. (top photo: bottom-right is the fern bush located on the outskirt of this park) (first bottom photo: me standing underneath an average size Redwood).
Next stop is Whakatane.
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