Revisiting Rotorua

It's been a year since I last published an update - going so long without a vacation/break was not good! Since the New Zealand borders were finally opening up to certain countries, we ended up having our first US visitor for many years. We got a suitcase full of good stuff from the US - things you can't get here or get here affordably, like some first aid and medicines, boxed pasta and cheese, and shoes (US $75 vs. NZ $250!). And of course the amazing Pacific Cookie Company cookies:

First was a trip to the zoo, where there were some different things, such as the red panda getting weighed and being a little stinker about coming over to the keeper. It was so cute when it finally went over, got its snack, looked at all of us watching it, then ambled back to go up the tree.

We also planned a short trip to Rotorua, which we'd been to before but a long time ago and when we were on a tight budget. It was really nice for me to have a break, get out of Auckland, and put my worries about everything happening on hold for a few days. 

We stopped in to Hamilton Gardens on the way down. It was raining a little, but this meant we had the place to ourselves, and it was still enjoyable even though not as many flowers were in bloom. There were new gardens opened since we'd been last, including an Egyptian-themed one which was cool.

The main event in Rotorua was doing a self-guided walking tour in Waimangu Volcanic Valley. It was beautiful and mysterious with hot thermal lakes and streams bubbling away, and gorgeous color patterns. We've seen a lot of New Zealand, but we hadn't seen this before and it reminded me of some of the country's best features (getting away from the infrastructure problems plaguing Auckland...). I would definitely go back and take future visitors so they can experience the wonder of these geothermal features as well.

We ended with a boat cruise on Lake Rotomahana (NZ's original tourist attraction long before Lord of the Rings and bungy jumping) and got to see more 'smoking' hillsides and geysers, and went where the famous Pink and White Terraces were before they were unfortunately buried in the volcanic eruption in 1886 that also took out several Maori villages. 

There's a free park in the town center of Rotorua with active, bubbling and smoking geothermal areas fenced off. We walked through it and on a short coastal walk before heading back to Auckland.

I will say, we ate out a lot when our visitor was here so didn't have to worry about dealing with dinner. 

We also went to the Chelsea Sugar Factory in Auckland for a short factory tour. We weren't allowed to bring cameras in so I can't show the amazingly huge mounds of raw sugar just come in off the ship, but trust me - they were cool. There's a lot involved in the sugar making process.

One of the last outings was going to the Taste of Pasifika small cultural festival downtown (scaled down due to Covid) and then up to a park up the coast with beautiful 360 views of the water and islands. 

It was interesting to explain quirks of New Zealand to someone after so many years of adjusting to them ourselves. It's not that we accept that things should be like they are, especially when they're harmful to humans, but you get used to things being a certain way. I felt so behind when I had to ask what 'Ring' was - apparently wireless home security has advanced quite a bit since I left and lots of people have these systems where they can access cameras and even talk through them to watch their houses for deliveries or intruders. Meanwhile, NZ is still struggling to get double-pane windows and decent heating and cooling systems. It's sometimes hard to adapt to living less comfortably here when you're used to a certain standard coming from the US. That said, the enormous toll to gun violence and other issues remind us why we won't be moving back anytime soon.

Rotorua, Land of Thermal Hotspots

Huka Falls is the "most visited" scenic area in New Zealand because it's right off the main road. And it's an easy walk. It was still magnificent, with loud, rushing water and beautiful turquoise water. There were tons of tourists there snapping selfies.

We cheaped out in Rotorua (it's super touristy and everything's expensive) and checked out the free Kuirau Park which had lots of bubbling pools and steam vents. It was my first time in a thermal area and the sulphuric smell was interesting. I got some great shots of the pukeko bird -- there were lots of them rummaging around for food. They have such pretty purple coats and that bright orange beak.

The Rotorua Museum was an iconic building, formerly the bath house that drew tourists to the area to receive all kinds of "medical" treatments, like being given electric shocks while soaking in the baths, or being spun around in a machine to relieve you of constipation. I wonder if people will look back on our time and consider our modern medicine to be so crazy.

There was a surprisingly cool corrugated art exhibit by Jeff Thomson. I enjoyed the animals and the submarine thing. Although we ran out of time to see a lot of the museum, there was a substantial Maori section which I'd like to return to see. The North Island does have a noticeably larger Maori presence which is nice to know exists since Christchurch doesn't emphasize their culture much.

The museum had a fun 20-minute movie with shaking seats and reenactment of the 1886 eruption of the nearby volcano, Mount Tarawera. It really made me think how dumb humans are when it comes to Nature. Despite past disasters, we recklessly rebuild in dangerous areas and even build huge tourist centers to encourage more people to come. We went on a guided tour of the museum with an older lady originally from Scandinavia, and she kept commenting on how the whole city and surrounding area is in a caldera from a volcano and could erupt again without warning. All of the hot springs and steam vents are an indication that things are still bubbling (literally) on and below the earth. And yet 50,000+ people live there now, and tourists have been coming for over a hundred years.