Rotorua and its many lakes was founded and settled in by Maori of the Te Arawa iri and is now considered the heartland of Maori culture in New Zealand. Rotorua's potential as a spa was noticed early on in 1883 and in order to preserve the area a special town district was established but in 1886 Mount Tarawera erupted changing the face of Rotorua forever. Not only did the explosion kill over 100 people and bury a village, many of Rotorua's lakes and landscapes were altered due to the eruption, rocks and ash. Rotorua started to really grow and open up to tourism in the late 1890's after a railway link was built between Auckland and Rotorua. This railway link allowed visitors to easily access this unique area and it's imfamous protected spa's.
There are many activities we can do in Rotorua, but because i only book for two nights here, we did not managed to covered everything. I choose to go Wai-o-tapu and Waimangu tomorrow and since we arrived here in the afternoon today some activities have already closed.
The Lakes - there are 14 to choose from. Lake Rotorua gives its name to the city and boat trips can be arranged to Mokoia Island in the centre. The lakefront has a scenic promenade from where you can see Mokoia Island. From the Lakefront scenic floatplane or helicopter scenic flights can be taken. Alternatively a cheaper option is to take the Amphibious truck from Fenton Street, which does a 90 minute tour of several of the main lakes in the area. All the lakes are stocked with trout and fishing is very popular.
Waimangu Volcanic Valley - born from the massive 1886 eruption of Mt Tarawera, is the world’s newest geothermal eco-system, and an exciting and dramatic destination that the whole family can enjoy. Whatever your age or fitness level, you'll find something that suits you - self guided and guided easy walks, advanced hikes and boat cruise experiences, ranging in duration from 45 minutes to over 4 hours. If you want outdoor activity, peaceful New Zealand bush, unique ecology, rare botany and stunning geothermal features, then Waimangu is the 'must do' experience. It is easily accessible, just 20 minutes south of Rotorua, and 40 minutes north of Taupo. Daily from 8:30AM.
Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland -- A great park to see a variety of geothermal landscapes and active volcano activities, including the Lady Knox Geyser, which is a famous geyser that erupts daily to heights of 10 to 20 m (33-66 ft).
On the 4th june, we take the bus to Rotorua, we wake up early and quickly went to the Railway station and bought beef pie each for breakfast. Then we went to the station platform no 9 and the bus is already there.
We reached Rotorua checked in motel after a short walk near the Isite Rotorua. The owner showed me all his spa pools , hot tubs and give me one small milk carton and 2 pool towels. :) . After that we went out for a walk near the hotel . The motel have 2 lizards signs on the walls outside.
We walked to the Rotorua lake as it is very near. Took some pictures and make some friends with some young people who took pictures for us.
We continue walking to the road and found one pizza hut shop which got special offer one classic pizza for only $4.90. So cheap we ordered one to eat outside the shop and cannot finished. We met those teenagers again who took for us some pictures. They were eating pizza there too. Mum says pack the balance 2 pcs of pizza back , later it was cold when we brought it back to hotel. I ate finished mine. Hers she throw away because it is cold and the topping dropped off.
The owner also told us there is shopping along that road called Tutanekai street. Most shops is closed when we walk there but we found what we really wanted which is the big supermarket after walking to the end of the road to the Pak and Go supermarket. We bought some groceries like chicken wings and vegetables.
We went back the motel and cooked some chicken wings and pack them up for tomorrow. Mom says she is going to cook some for tomorrow outing but it might be cold. We ate some for dinner. After dinner we went down to try the spa pools , there are 4 pools but we try 2 only. The hot mineral pool and the normal hot water spa pool. We used the towels the owner gave us and we changed before going down. It was cold outside. We wrapped ourselves with towels before going out.
After a hot soak we went up to bathe. I have to wait until mom finished bathing but it was not cold as we have a heater inside although it is not very hot. After bathing we sleep each on different beds as inside the room we have a double bed and a single bed. Mom take the single bed near the toilet. The covers on the bed is not very clean. I saw hairs on the covers.
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