Kia Ora from Hutt Valley!
So our Rotorua itinerary didn't exactly go as planned, but we had a wonderful day all the same. The morning began early in hopes of catching the Lady Knox Geyser's daily 10:15 am eruption in Wai-O-Tapo geothermal Park, but good old Tom (gps for all you Americans) had a slightly more scenic and harrowing route in mind for us-delaying our arrival to about 10:16. We decided to play in the geothermal pools anyway which are supposedly the best and most colorful in all of New Zealand! We learned a lot about geothermal activity but the most valuable lesson was definitely that “pool” does not always mean bring your swimming trunks. A dive into the foggy bubbling pools of yellow, red, and neon green probably would have turned us into sulphur scented biohazards. Beneath the thick layer of fog was Champagne Lake, which was left by the most destructive volcano of the past 5,000 years. The feeling of the park fell somewhere between the Jurassic Park movie set and a kind of nuclear wasteland--but thanks to Mother Nature I now know neon green is a color found in nature and don’t feel so guilty eating green skittles.
The best part of the day was definitely Waiketo Springs, where finally we found hot spring baths. Let me tell you the off-season is a glorious thing- for NZ$12 we could lounge in hot baths against a backdrop of green rolling hills and hear distant mooing for as long as we wanted AND the place was nearly tourist-free. Heaven.
We started our drive to Taupo after taking full advantage of the free showers (because you never really know what you‘re going to find at the nightly campsites). Along the way we stopped at a very cheesy roadside attraction where I could taunt an entire colony of bees from behind a securely placed piece of glass after a life spent fearing the allergic reaction a bee sting would cause. Luckily we managed to escape bee paraphernalia free, though the honey mead was a close call.
I wish I could say we basked in the beauty of the biggest lake in New Zealand, Lake Taupo, but I am equally happy to report being here did not stop me from seeing Harry Potter in theaters. We’ve been lucky to have fantastic weather thus far, but our morning in Taupo was dampened a bit by an unwelcome downpour, so what else are two media scholars to do? Three exhilarating hours later we began our drive to Napier, the North Island’s Art-Deco capital. After I tried on about 50 different flapper-esque feathery hairpieces and Jamie several jazzy tophats, we stumbled into Hawke’s Bay Museum. The first few rooms were full of very intricate Maori carvings and textiles which were fortunately being kept in storage when an earthquake hit Napier in 1931 and completely wiped the town out; at which point the townspeople decided to rebuild almost exclusively in Art-Deco fashion. The town was truly beautiful, if a bit Stepford-like. The gardens were apparently unphased by winter’s chill and were full of brightly colored flowers and sparkling fountains that opened into a sunny boardwalk alongside the Pacific.
Next up was the New Zealand National Aquarium which finally promised Kiwi birds! Though there were only two, they were much larger than expected and not unlike the rest of New Zealand, possessed an other-worldly quality. It’s no wonder they are extinct though--without wings what good is a bird? Or so Darwin might have you believe. Our hunt for a campervan mascot is still fruitless, even after visiting Hastings, Palmerston North, and spending a brief time along Wellington’s many bays since yesterday morning. We were impressed by the waterfront homes in New Zealand’s windy capital though. And we’ll spend tomorrow exploring the city in greater depth.
So our Rotorua itinerary didn't exactly go as planned, but we had a wonderful day all the same. The morning began early in hopes of catching the Lady Knox Geyser's daily 10:15 am eruption in Wai-O-Tapo geothermal Park, but good old Tom (gps for all you Americans) had a slightly more scenic and harrowing route in mind for us-delaying our arrival to about 10:16. We decided to play in the geothermal pools anyway which are supposedly the best and most colorful in all of New Zealand! We learned a lot about geothermal activity but the most valuable lesson was definitely that “pool” does not always mean bring your swimming trunks. A dive into the foggy bubbling pools of yellow, red, and neon green probably would have turned us into sulphur scented biohazards. Beneath the thick layer of fog was Champagne Lake, which was left by the most destructive volcano of the past 5,000 years. The feeling of the park fell somewhere between the Jurassic Park movie set and a kind of nuclear wasteland--but thanks to Mother Nature I now know neon green is a color found in nature and don’t feel so guilty eating green skittles.
The best part of the day was definitely Waiketo Springs, where finally we found hot spring baths. Let me tell you the off-season is a glorious thing- for NZ$12 we could lounge in hot baths against a backdrop of green rolling hills and hear distant mooing for as long as we wanted AND the place was nearly tourist-free. Heaven.
We started our drive to Taupo after taking full advantage of the free showers (because you never really know what you‘re going to find at the nightly campsites). Along the way we stopped at a very cheesy roadside attraction where I could taunt an entire colony of bees from behind a securely placed piece of glass after a life spent fearing the allergic reaction a bee sting would cause. Luckily we managed to escape bee paraphernalia free, though the honey mead was a close call.
I wish I could say we basked in the beauty of the biggest lake in New Zealand, Lake Taupo, but I am equally happy to report being here did not stop me from seeing Harry Potter in theaters. We’ve been lucky to have fantastic weather thus far, but our morning in Taupo was dampened a bit by an unwelcome downpour, so what else are two media scholars to do? Three exhilarating hours later we began our drive to Napier, the North Island’s Art-Deco capital. After I tried on about 50 different flapper-esque feathery hairpieces and Jamie several jazzy tophats, we stumbled into Hawke’s Bay Museum. The first few rooms were full of very intricate Maori carvings and textiles which were fortunately being kept in storage when an earthquake hit Napier in 1931 and completely wiped the town out; at which point the townspeople decided to rebuild almost exclusively in Art-Deco fashion. The town was truly beautiful, if a bit Stepford-like. The gardens were apparently unphased by winter’s chill and were full of brightly colored flowers and sparkling fountains that opened into a sunny boardwalk alongside the Pacific.
Next up was the New Zealand National Aquarium which finally promised Kiwi birds! Though there were only two, they were much larger than expected and not unlike the rest of New Zealand, possessed an other-worldly quality. It’s no wonder they are extinct though--without wings what good is a bird? Or so Darwin might have you believe. Our hunt for a campervan mascot is still fruitless, even after visiting Hastings, Palmerston North, and spending a brief time along Wellington’s many bays since yesterday morning. We were impressed by the waterfront homes in New Zealand’s windy capital though. And we’ll spend tomorrow exploring the city in greater depth.
