Rotorua

For over 160 years Rotorua has been the heart of tourism. Victorian travellers were as facsinated by its natural wonders as visitors are today. It is also the spiritual heartland of the Te Arawa people and is the place where traditional Maori culture can be experienced. In Rotorua and its surrounding areas, the forces of volcanism are seen at their most dramatic. Geysers, boiling mud pools, scalding hot lakes, mineral hot pools, belching vents and sulphorous odours are all of the natural wonders that can be found here. However they all combine to make the place absolutely stink of egg! After being greeted by the lovely aroma we found out that we had already driven past most of the decent attractions on the way up from Taupo. Therefore we spent the afternoon and early evening wandering around the town having a look at some of the hot springs and mud pools in the town centre.

The first Europeans used to dip themselves into the mudpools for therapeutic properties. The pools were reputed to cure a variety of ailments such as arthritis, rheumatism, gout and skin conditions. There was no accomodation nearby so the bathers would have to set up a tent and camp beside the pools. The bathers were said to have tied a rope around themselves and attached it to a tree where they would then dip themselves into the dark brown mud of the 'Coffee Pot'. It was called this because of its colour. Not only did the mud smell bad but it also left a horrible stain on the skin!






















The next day we planned to see a geyser that erupted at 10:15am every day but by the time we found out where it was we didn't have enough time to get there and we headed back down to see some of the other attractions.

The first of these was Huka Falls. These are part of the Waikato river system. This is the most highly developed river system for electricity generation in New Zealand. The 11 stations on the Waikato provide 65% of the North Islands power generation and 25% of New Zealands hydro power. This is 15% of New Zealands total power!

At Huka Falls the Waikato river thunders through a narrow chasm and over a 35ft rock ledge. The force is extraordinary with the falls dropping into a seething milky white pool 200ft across. The view from the footbridge is superb and we took a video to try and give you a better idea of its power than pictures can give you. You can see this by clicking here.






















The next stop on the Waikato river was the Aratiatia Dam. The river below the dam is virtually dry most of the time, but 3 times a day and 4 times in the summer the dam gates are opened and the gorge is transformed into a raging torrent. Luckily we arrived just in time to catch the aftermath of the afternoon show as the gates had just been opened. It was cool to finally see a dam in full operation although it didn't seem as impressive as Huka Falls. I think it may have been better if we had arrived slightly earlier to get the complete contrast from a dry river to the fast-flowing one that we seen.






























We finished off our day by visiting the last remaining attraction, the Waitomo Mud Pools. We had intended just stopping off to take a few photos and some videos as the smell was ridiculous. However, due to a fellow Bluenose spotting the mighty Gers top the day after another win for us in the Old Firm game, we had an extensive 4 hour look as we talked away to him before ending up meeting him later on in the pub. Turns out it is a small world as he was from Barrhead and worked at Hamilton Power League with Kenny! You can watch a video of these pools here.