Thursday 5th April 2018 - Rotorua

So here we are at the world famous Rotorua scene of the thermal springs and the largest geysers in the Southern Hemisphere. After morning coffee and a leisurely rising, we set off for Te Puia which is the Maori Center where the hot springs come to the surface. The site is about ten minutes drive from the hotel.

 After checking in we met our Maori guide Kari who explained some context for us and also showed us how to pronounce some of the very long Maori names. Kari had been a guide here for many years and had a very good idea at what time the geysers would blow at their maximum. So after showing us the layout of the area, she took us to the bridge which is close to the geysers. She was aware that the stem was building up and the rumbling under the ground was increasing. Soon one of the geysers started to gain in height and after a few minutes two or three of them were rising 20 or 30 feet into the air. The geysers can continue to 'blow' for up to 45 minutes with fluctuations in height up and down during this time. 
We all had to recite this before the tour started!!

Our guide, Kari
Water is trapped 3 miles underground in aquifers and when heated by the magma is turned to super-heated steam which builds up over time and eventually burst out of the surface of the earth. The whole time the area is suffused by steam and a strong smell of hydrogen  sulfide. When the geysers blow it is an impressive sight but the hot water cools very quickly.




OK, I have dozens of photos of the geysers at Rotorua but I hope these are enough to give you the idea.
After visiting the geysers we moved onto the mud pools which are just that with the mud bubbling up in an eerie manner. 

The mudpools
Then it was on to the special nocturnal enclosure where the kiwis are kept. Kiwis are flightless, night birds and in this enclosure the day and night are reversed for the birds and during the day the public can go in and see the kiwis moving about in the dark. It was not easy for me to see the birds but MAC assured me that they were there. The birds are young birds which have been hatched by the Kiwi Preservation organization and will. eventually be released into the wild. The population of kiwis dropped dramatically with the advent of the introduced predators but now the population is climbing again and thought to be about 70,000.


Some of the exhibits outside the Kiwi House, of course, photos are not allowed inside or the birds would be disturbed.

Then we went on to the Maori area where there is a big meeting house, a huge long canoe and many other Maori carvings and statues. 

A 'marea' or meeting house

A smaller storehouse


Wonderful art made with New Zealand flax
Kari shows us how to strip the flax leaf into fibers.
We stopped for a coffee and smoothie at the large cafe and then recovered the car and drove around the lake to the north of the city.

 On return to the hotel we went down to the spa in the hotel and had a thermal bath, a sauna and a swim which was very nice and relaxing.

 On Thursday evening in Rotorua, they have a night market which consists of an area with a lot of food stalls as well as some crafts and other goods.

 We decided to eat there and had some rather interesting potato spirals on a stick, paella and some very spicy Filipino pork dish. We ended the evening with a Lady Jane's ice cream.

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