Rotorua (Before It Was Over: Part II)

The Queenstown of the North Island, Rotorua bursts with so much to offer that it deserves its own blog post. We zorbed, we luged, we tiptoed among the luminescent tall trees. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Let’s start at the beginning.

March 13, 2020

On March 13, after finishing our 19-kilometer hike through The Lord of the Rings landscape, we settled into our rental vehicle and drove north. We enjoyed last looks of the Mt. Doom landscape and drove flush with the glistening Lake Taupo for a while before arriving in the geothermic wonderland, Rotorua.

The Luge

But we didn’t check into our accommodations. We had hiked ourselves out in Queenstown and missed the luge because of exhaustion, and we weren’t going to miss the other NZ location for it. So we drove straight to Skyline Rotorua and chose between $50 NZD/adult for the gondola to the luge and one luge ride or the night luge special for a gondola + 5 luge rides for $51 NZD. (Obvi, the latter)

Once the gondola dropped us atop the Skyline hill, we walked to the luge center and got our helmets. Then we selected our luges and went through a mini-tutorial where we learned how to brake and off we went. At the bottom, there is a ski lift that takes the luges and riders back to the top to enjoy again. We rode two of the three tracks and—of course—got the pictures.

---

March 14, 2020

Among all the days on our RTW trip, this now stands as the day we look back on most longingly. Somehow, we planned it so tightly and expertly that even we aren’t quite sure how we fit in everything we did. It seems a world away now (in the time of COVID) that we could plan and execute on such a diverse, adventurous, and social day. But we did, and as much as the nostalgia brings sorrow for things lost, it also brings such joy for the life that we squeezed out of what proved to be a fading representation of the free world. So, how did we do it?

9:00 AM: Zorb

After making our breakfast and donning swimwear, we made our way to our first activity – Zorbing. On a picturesque rolling hillside (typical New Zealand) sits a small operation with big belly flips. We checked into the counter, pre-ordered the picture package, secured our GoPro, and boarded the shuttle van. The van took us and other thrill-seekers up the hill and to a hot tub waiting area. There, we sat in the tub, enjoyed the view, and watched as two kids between 10-14 years old dive into their Zorb and speed down the hill.

Hot tub dugout

Then went the group of three, and then the single rider until just Heather and I were left to descend. We Superman-dove into the small Zorb opening, they gave us a few words of instruction and encouragement, and down we went! (My entry was lacking much grace...)

Between rides, we sat in another hot tub and also figured out how to take pictures and videos at the same time with our GoPro.

Our second ride, we braved The Mega Track…, “The fastest, longest and steepest downhill ball rolling track in the WORLD!”

If you're thinking, "Wow, that looked a lot faster and steeper than the first one," it was. It is every bit as fun as it looks, if not more. It’s reminiscent of rolling down grassy hills as a kid, but with less dizziness and fewer grass stains. After our second ride, we warmed up once more in the hot tub, showered off in the heated outdoor shower stalls, and picked up our pictures. (Here's a blend of our purchased pics and our GoPro.)

We had more adventure to get to.

11:00 AM: Guns

Though my humble opinion is that the origin and intent of our Second Amendment was to support the arming of a militia (and not individual citizens), I do understand that interpretation seems to have been lost and replaced in recent times. So, Heather and I, in a nod to our Americanism, embraced the right to both bear and bare arms and went to a shooting range (my first time).

Heather, of course, was a natural and hit the clay pigeons in her first round. I, on the other hand, had to learn the hard way that I am in fact a left-handed shooter (due to the fact that I’m incapable of winking my left eye without distorting the vision of my right). So, after a change in arms (hehe), I joined Heather in the dismantling of flying orange discs. We started with one type of gun and then moved to a pump-action shotgun, which happened to be much more fun to use.

1:00 PM: What’s that you said?

After our shooting fun, we got back in our car, cracked a couple of cans of tuna, and headed for Whakarewarewa, the only living Maori village in New Zealand. That is, other villages are just reconstructions, but here the Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao live, run the operations, and directly benefit from the tourism. The village is on a geothermal landscape, which provides the residents with natural sources for cooking, bathing, and skincare.

It was here that we met up with my Aunt Audrey and Uncle Richard. At 64, my father’s sister Audrey is the model for a woman living her best life. She has been known to take Zumba classes, invite generations over for holiday meals, travel alone for a month to Guatemala, assist an acquaintance in securing a potentially life-saving operation, spend 6 weeks with her husband driving around New Zealand, and work hard enough to get—what Heather and I call—Audrey Arms. (We are now doing our own quarantine push-ups hoping to mimic her tone.) As Audrey is outgoing and adventurous, Richard complements and balances her. He is a deeply thoughtful and quiet man, with an unshowy ambition for adventure of his own (hiking Tongariro solo). He is full of rich insights and endless knowledge about many topics, but his knowledge doesn’t lack curiosity making his wisdom (if you can break through his more reserved nature) unintimidating and approachable.

Ever so modest, Audrey hides her Audrey Arms

We joined them at the start of the 1 PM village tour, and after the requisite photos and hugs (ah, pre-COVID takeover), we tried our hands learning a bit of Maori pronunciation. No, the name of the village is not easy to repeat.

We followed our guide through the village, taking in some of the geothermal wonders incorporated into their daily life—like the slow steam cooker, the public baths, and over the hill a geyser on display. We then watched (and participated in) a traditional dance ceremony. Shortly after this, Heather and I had a date with our next adventure so we bid adieu to Audrey & Richard and grabbed our corn special on the way out. (There was a special ticket package that came with corn so we did not pass that up.)

3:30 PM: Out of the Frying Pan and into the…

We had some drive out to the next stop which closed entry after 3:30 PM, so we had to hustle to make it. We got our tickets, had a quick pee break, and then set out on our hike through Waimangu Volcanic Valley. Among the natural sites that had tourism built around them, this was one of the better executed. Upon ticket exchange, we were handed a large numbered map. At each numbered station along the hike, there was a detailed description of the geologic activities and history, unfolding a story as we walked on.

Though it was remarkable and beautiful in its entirety, we had two favorite stops: Frying Pan Lake and Inferno Crater (<--I’ve hyperlinked the live webcams so you, too, can visit these wonders.)

Frying Pan Lake is literally the world’s largest hot spring, at 9.4 acres of surface area and 200,000 meters cubed of volume. Nearing it, visitors can view the steam rising off it, just like the evaporative effect of a frying pan and hear what sounds like boiling. It was formed in 1886 among many other geological remnants of the eruption of Mount Tarawera. It’s a little too hot to soak in, however, with temperatures between 120-140º F. Oh, and it’s acidic (pH 3.8, nerds), with the boiling effect caused by the carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide gases rising to the surface. So, stick with the hot tub.

As if we hadn’t seen enough brightly colored New Zealand lakes, in steps Inferno Crater to show up the rest. It’s both hotter (up to 176º) and higher acidity (pH 2.2) than Frying Pan Lake but aesthetically looks more inviting.

The deep blue you see here, though, is relatively unique, as the color is directly affected by the water levels and the suspension of silica deposits therein. At the lowest level, it looks like a soupy gray, but during our visit, it was near the overflow level reflecting a bright robins’ egg blue that we failed to recreate in any of our Easter Egg attempts one month later:

After stopping at the 20+ stops, we neared the bus stop that would take us back to the entrance at 4:45 PM. But, it turns out the bus arrived early and we had to chase and yell after it to make sure we weren’t stranded inside the park once it closed. We did get a little shade when we got on the bus (despite our actually being on time), but we got over it before the other bus-riders did.

7:00 PM: Family wine time

After a quick hit back to our Airbnb to shower and scrounge more from-the-cooler dinner, we drove over to Audrey and Richard’s rental unit where we enjoyed some wine, a crisp and sweet New Zealand native pipfruit of which the name I cannot remember, and complex and unfolding conversation. We chatted about the Marvel and DC universe (thanks to Richard’s endless knowledge) in movies and comics, about travel and tips, and about emotional intelligence and family dynamics. We probably could have stayed and chatted all night (especially with the NZ wine flowing), but we needed to hit one last stop before it closed.

9:00 PM: Floating among the trees

About 120 years ago, New Zealand was investigating innovations in forestry to help keep up with the demand for timber while maintaining natural habitats for the almost 200 native bird species (and other critters). Turns out, Redwoods grow pretty fast in New Zealand. Taken from the coastal United States and planted in 1901, these transplants enjoyed an accelerated growth thanks to the rich soil and higher rainfall, reaching 230 ft only 100 years later. This growth enabled a canopy walkway to come to fruition, and the Redwoods Treewalk was born. We chose to ascend this in the evening, with the gift of artfully placed lanterns and illuminations around the forest bringing movement and light to the nocturnal traverse.

All in, it took roughly 45 minutes and we made friends with one of the employees who gave us a greater perspective of the location as well as her experience there as she somehow ninja appeared in various posts of our walk after also checking us in and greeting us at the finish. I think her name was Rory but I’m suffering from memory loss due to staying in place (or maybe her ninja tricks), so you’ll have to forgive me.

---

March 15

On our final day in Rotorua, we kept it to just two activities.

Wai-o-tapu

After getting accustomed to (and even liking?) the eggy smell to Rotorua, hitting another famed geothermal spot would not insult our senses. The biggest draw at Wai-o-tapu was the Lady Knox Geyser, which I imagined as a bit of an Old Faithful sister, but that didn’t go off until late morning, so after meeting up at 8:30 AM Heather, Audrey, and I walked through two of the three trails through the park.

Two highlights were the Artist’s Pallete and Devil’s Bath. If the other lakes of New Zealand were Glacier Freeze Gatorade, Devil's Bath was certainly Ecto Cooler Hi-C.

Our shadows survived the Devil's Bath

Now, as I stated, I had high hopes for the Lady Knox Geyser. Scheduled to spout daily at 10:15 AM, we made sure to get to the parking and take our seats at least 15 minutes early. And there we sat with throngs of other tourists awaiting the display. And while we waited, we decided to read a bit about it. The disappointment set in quickly but at least tapered our excitement for the real thing.

Turns out, Lady Knox is a glorified science fair exhibit where a worker dumps some soap into the mouth of the geyser causing the chemical reaction and subsequent eruption. Some prisoners doing laundry had discovered it accidentally years before. It lasted about 15 seconds. And then we all laughed.

Hot Water Beach

Unbeknownst to us, we had our last hike of the trip that day. After departing Wai-o-tapu, still laughing at the disappointing climax, we drove to the trailhead for the one-way 9-mile hike on the Tarawera Trail. Here, we started along grass prairie and quickly entered wooded areas. Heather spotted a wild pig (sorry, no photo) before we went deeper into vegetation reminiscent of Southeast Asia. The hike itself had 1800 feet of elevation and ended at Hot Water Beach, so named as the water from the lake is warmed by natural hot springs nearby.

After about 3.5 hours of hiking we arrived at the beach, but changed our plan and didn’t get in (it was really just like bathwater, not like a hot tub), and instead sat on the side watching black swans, eating tuna, and remarking at the incredibly sharp grass. Our water taxi arrived about an hour later, and in combination with a land shuttle, it brought us back to our vehicle. A fairly unceremonious final international hike, but some things are best cherished when you don’t have to know the imminent sadness complicating your joy.

---

Next Stop: Waitomo

#westwardhoeseatpipfruit