Rotorua
08 - 12 March 2023
Julie and Anthony soak their feet the Kuirau Park footbaths in Rotorua
We took a walk from the Novotel Lakeside to the public geothermal park in downtown Rotorua.
That evening we had an excellent Buffet Dinner at the Te Puia. Which included a demonstration of Mauri culture and the Pohutu geyser at night.
On Friday, Anthony had a rafting trip down the Kaituna River, a “New Zealand” class 5 rapids. This included a drop down a 2 meter drop and the 7 meter Okere falls. Julie could not bend enough to fit in the 2 foot space you needed to fit into in order not to die when going over the falls. Much to her dismay, she was “kicked out” of the raft.
A 2 meter (6 ft) drop, the warm up.
The big kahuna, a 7 meter drop down Okere Falls. This is the biggest drop any commercial rafting company runs in New Zealand.
Cool building on the Lakeside.
Julie and Anthony at the Blue Pools
We took a 3 mile walk down the Waimangu Geothermal Valley. There was a resort here in the 19th Century, but it was destroyed in the eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886 which killed (at least) 150 people. Did we mention Rotorua was part of the same super volcano as Lake Taupo.
Anthony with a Redwood Tree in the Whakarewarewa Forest, on the outskirts of Rotorua.
A free music festival was at Lakeside Park, across the street from the hotel. The park was packed (~20K people) and it was a Rotorua reunion where folks had not seen each other since covid, with all local acts. We stayed for the first half, then listened to the second act from the hotel bar. The show was topped off with fireworks over the lake.
We took an amphibious duck boat tour in Rotorua Sunday morning before our trip to Hobbiton. We took a drive in Emerald Lake and Lake Okareka.
