All driving directions in Rotorua begin with “you’ll smell it before you see it.” Rotorua is one of the most active geothermal areas in the world and it is littered with boiling mud pools, hot mineral baths, and cracks in the Earth spewing steam. All of these cracks allow the smell of sulphur to seep out from everywhere, so you truly do smell it before you see it. The countless water sources mixed with the year-round warmth provided by the geothermal activity made it a perfect place for a large group of Maori to settle and it is still strongly influenced by the Maori culture. It also has adventures around every corner.
We called a hostel and requested the “Steal Deal” package which included a pass to the Polynesian Spa (35 naturally heated mineral pools ranging from 97 to 110 degrees), a white water rafting trip down the Kaituna River (Maori for ‘Eel Food’) complete with a 23 foot waterfall – the biggest commercially run waterfall in the world, and a ticket up the Skyline Gondola with 5 rollercoaster-like luge rides down three different tracks ranging from a 1.5 mile scenic route to the screaming fast ½ mile long advanced course.
We expected to stay 3-4 days in Rotorua before heading to the Hawke’s Bay region to find
work picking apples/grapes for a few weeks. However, after one day in Rotorua we decided to find work and stay for a few months. It is an active city on the shores of Lake Rotorua and is surrounded by beautiful parks and gardens and it seems to host at least one event or festival each weekend.
We woke up for our rafting trip to a drizzling morning. All of my prior rafting experience involved frigid waters from snow melt and the thought of rafting in the rain with freezing river water sounded miserable. We crossed our fingers that they would cancel the trip, but no such luck. The bus picked us up from the hostel and the bus driver/rafting guide soon relieved our biggest fear – the river was actually over 80 degrees thanks to warm lake the river flowed from. Once on the river, we looked forward to getting flipped out of the raft so we could float in the warm water.
We were given a quick 3 minute lesson on how to paddle and what to do in the likely event that the boat flipped over on one of the three waterfalls – a very encouraging start. The trip only lasted one hour, but it was a very intense hour filled with rapid after rapid. It concluded with a 23 foot waterfall that frequently flips even the best guides. Right before plummeting over the edge, our guide yelled for us to drop to the bottom of the raft and tuck our heads. Our boat was the first to go over and we made it successfully. We watched from below as each of the next four boats flipped over, sending the passengers literally flying in every direction. We had a good laugh as we helped rescue the passengers while they waited for their boat to turned right side up.
We called a hostel and requested the “Steal Deal” package which included a pass to the Polynesian Spa (35 naturally heated mineral pools ranging from 97 to 110 degrees), a white water rafting trip down the Kaituna River (Maori for ‘Eel Food’) complete with a 23 foot waterfall – the biggest commercially run waterfall in the world, and a ticket up the Skyline Gondola with 5 rollercoaster-like luge rides down three different tracks ranging from a 1.5 mile scenic route to the screaming fast ½ mile long advanced course.
We expected to stay 3-4 days in Rotorua before heading to the Hawke’s Bay region to find
work picking apples/grapes for a few weeks. However, after one day in Rotorua we decided to find work and stay for a few months. It is an active city on the shores of Lake Rotorua and is surrounded by beautiful parks and gardens and it seems to host at least one event or festival each weekend.We woke up for our rafting trip to a drizzling morning. All of my prior rafting experience involved frigid waters from snow melt and the thought of rafting in the rain with freezing river water sounded miserable. We crossed our fingers that they would cancel the trip, but no such luck. The bus picked us up from the hostel and the bus driver/rafting guide soon relieved our biggest fear – the river was actually over 80 degrees thanks to warm lake the river flowed from. Once on the river, we looked forward to getting flipped out of the raft so we could float in the warm water.
We were given a quick 3 minute lesson on how to paddle and what to do in the likely event that the boat flipped over on one of the three waterfalls – a very encouraging start. The trip only lasted one hour, but it was a very intense hour filled with rapid after rapid. It concluded with a 23 foot waterfall that frequently flips even the best guides. Right before plummeting over the edge, our guide yelled for us to drop to the bottom of the raft and tuck our heads. Our boat was the first to go over and we made it successfully. We watched from below as each of the next four boats flipped over, sending the passengers literally flying in every direction. We had a good laugh as we helped rescue the passengers while they waited for their boat to turned right side up.
Rotorua was originally set up as a spa town due to the multitude of hot pools in the area, so the obvious activity after rafting was to head over to the Polynesian Spa to soak our cold and sore muscles in the hot mineral pools. We were greeted by a Korean man who was eager to practice his English and trivia skills by giving both Rachel and me 30 facts about our home state. We gradually worked our way from the coolest to hottest of the Spa’s 35 pools. Even the coolest pool was 97 degrees, so I frequently hit up the extravagant outdoor cold shower that was beautifully designed with red, green and blue stones in the wall.
We headed to the Skyline Gondola in the morning, where we took a Gondola up the side of a mountain and got a breathtaking view of the town, Lake Rotorua, and the surrounding mountains and forests. From the moment we arrived, people told us how much fun the luge rides in Rotorua and Queenstown were. All pictures of luging look incredibly unimpressive and ours are no different. Pictures make this activity look like a lame carnival ride, but it is the complete opposite. The luge ride is basically a motorless go-kart that follows a winding track down a mountain and it can easily reach speeds over 30mph. As with a couple things we’ve discovered in NZ- the thrill of the ride is paramount and safety is secondary. There were no guard rails and with lanes 4 times as wide as a luge, racing was not discouraged. Rachel and I had a blast and survived with little more than a minor case of whiplash from an overeager 12 year old at the finishing line. 
The next week was spent searching for jobs and exploring the city and its surroundings. The recession has not really hit NZ yet, but the fear of it has caused hiring freezes and with no hopeful leads, we drove 50miles south to Taupo. Taupo has been our base for the past month and met some wonderful people and have had some amazing experiences.
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