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| Mud pools |
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| Te Puia hot steam |
On the morning designated to start our road trip it's raining hard and has been raining hard for the last 12 hours. Like rats fleeing the ark we pack the car and head for the hills of Rotorua 400kms south. South of Auckland is prime farmland as far as you can see with acres and acres of maize interspersed with huge dairy herds and some thoroughbred farms here and there. As we sped past Hobbiton, location for Hobbit town in Lord of the Rings, the rained eased until conveniently stopping as we reached Rotorua.
One smells Rotorua before you see it. Allegedly the no.1 tourist attraction in NZ (but aren't they all?) is a visitor industry based on noxious fumes and hot water emerging from underground at a place where the earth's crust is one of the thinnest places in the world.
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| Old geyser and mother-in-law |
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| in front of Maori house |
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| Stuffed kiwi |
At 4.30 the last of the bus tours departed and we (David, my mum and me) had the place almost to ourselves which was a big plus. We went back to spend quality time with the pair of kiwi birds, watching them dig out a new burrow next to the viewing glass.
We left as the gates were closing and as the heavens opened to release more rain.
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| Prince of Wales geyser |
The attraction of Te Puia has guides, lots of coach tours, a couple of geysers, hot, bubbling mud pools, real kiwi birds, maori houses, wood carving, weaving and a the ubiquitous gift shop. I may seem to be poking fun but it was a good, compact way to see the highlights of the area well presented and with easy access.
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