Day 25 & 26 – April 24 & 25 , 2025 – Travel to Rotorua – And a day in the Hot seat!

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Day 25 - April 24, 2025 - Travel to Rotorua

Our driver picked us up at 10:30 and we were off for a 4 hour drive to our next destination. Graig was very chatty and informative about the areas we passed through. He explained about the devastation caused by the Gabriel cyclone that passed through several years ago. He took us through the largest man planted forest, a forest of Monterey Pines that are planted as part of the logging industry here in New Zealand.  We stopped briefly in Tepou, which is home to the largest lake on the North Island. And then we stopped to see another waterfall.

Day 26 - April 25, 2025 - Hot Springs in Rotorua

Today was an early start. We met our guide at 8:00 for a day of touring this fantastic landscape. Situated on the lake from which it takes its name, Rotorua is a major tourist destination. Māori first settled the area in the 14th century, and the area is rich in their culture. The lake, as are several of the lakes in this region, is a caldera from an ancient volcano that erupted more than 200,000 years ago. The caldera is the source of the geothermal activity that is a key feature of the city and surrounding region.  This is where we started our tour!

As we drove along, everywhere on the sides of the road you could see steam rising from cracks in the surface. Clint, our driver and guide, first took us to some mud pools where we could see the mud bubbling and the steam rising.

From there we visited Wai-O-Tapu, a thermal park, for a walk along the hot springs that bubble up out of the surface spewing all sorts of minerals.

Then we went to see the Lady Knox geyser. This is a geyser that they induce to erupt at 10:15 daily by dropping a surfactant into the opening of the vent.

Clint, though not Māori, apparently speaks the language fluently, having learned it in school. He was very versed in the various meanings and customs of the Māori, and he entertained us with stories as we drove along.

We had lunch in the main area of the city. Here there is a pedestrian walkway with various restaurants on either side. We stopped at a place called Atticus Finch for lunch.

Our next stop was Waimangu, a Volcanic Valley. This is where there was a huge volcanic explosion in 1886 that destroyed what was then termed the “eighth wonder of the world”, pink and white terraces which cascaded down to the waters.

We followed down the trek into the valley past several lakes, formed after the 1886 eruption. Along the way, Clint would show us some of the plants with various medicinal properties. This was clearly still a very active geothermal location as in many places you could see the water bubbling up and steam rising. We reached the end of the pathway down at the Inferno Crater. The geothermal fluid comprising this crater lake has a unique cyclic rise and fall in water level, ranging between overflow and as low as 12 meters below that.

We walked along a path to reach a place where we could take a bus up to the starting point, and the gift shop!

Our next, and final stop of the day, was at Te Puia, New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute. The facility is located at another Geothermal park, that we toured prior to visiting the school workshops. It is also includes an Kiwi habitat that reverses the day / night cycle so we could walk through and see Kiwis foraging in their enclosures.

Founded more than 60 years ago, to teach the traditional and unique skills of the Māori artisans, thus preserving and helping to perpetuate appreciation for the Māori culture. Here there are workshops for Stone carving, wood carving, weaving and other crafts. All students receive scholarships to attend. The school is funded by our tourism and the sale of the student/artists’ works.

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