We met up with my Mum & Dad over Christmas and explored Rotorua and the Tongariro National Park. Lots of spectacular volcanic terrain and our first sight of snow up on top of Mt Ruapehu.05. Volcanic Plateau
We met up with my Mum & Dad over Christmas and explored Rotorua and the Tongariro National Park. Lots of spectacular volcanic terrain and our first sight of snow up on top of Mt Ruapehu.Cookie’s Senior & Senorita
We are joined on our adventure by two more Cookies! Cookie’s Mum and Dad ( if you didn’t already guess ;) ) Anne & Eric. And today as part of our ‘Christmas Holiday’ from walking we’re exploring all the thermal excitement Rotorua has to offer!
Yey Mum & Dad have come to visit :) Our original plan was to meet up much closer to Christmas, but the weather forecast looks well shitty.. so seemed sensible to meet up now and do some touristy things and day walks while it’s a bit rainy.Stinky Pool
…and they’re not kidding when they warn you about the eggy smell! Haha! Woa that’s powerful…Ah Rotorua, this place was a full-on tourist town, much more so that I was expecting. Couldn’t bring ourselves to lay down the 200-400 odd dollars (for a family of 4) to see the towns geothermal delights. So had a quick look at the free stuff then moved on fairly sharpish.Wai-O-Tapu - Champagne Pool
Some wicked steamy pools of all sorts of colours here. They feel almost alien to look at. You’re imagining what bizarre undiscovered creatures could spring up at you from the depths of the earth. You get walls of hot sauna steam hit your skin, followed by gusts of icy wind. Very odd sensation. Interesting though!We couldn’t leave the area without seeing some real geothermal action, so we decided to spend our dollars on Wai-O-Tapu Geothermal Wonderland! My mum reckoned “it’s got a more colourfull brochure than the others”. I agree, it wasn’t quite on par with Yellowstone, but maybe my yard stick is too hard to beat..
Champagne Pool pictured is one of it’s star attractions. With a crater 65m in diameter and a depth of approximately 62m, this is one pretty huge and impressive hot spring!
The Surreal Mirror
I love this shot Cookie took of Champagne Pool. There’s some great abstract imagery to be captured here. Feels ‘other worldly’.I took this upside down while holding onto the tripod legs and dangling it over the pool. I was going to flip it back on the iPad, but quite like the surreal-ness of it like this.Devil’s Bath
Continuing the sci-fi / alien world theme, this lake wouldn’t look out of place with Captain Kirk fighting some bikini-clad alien chick in the background. The pool’s actually called Devil’s Bath. The yellow-green neon sulphur bubbling up from deep in the earth giving the water it’s awesome colour.
Whoa, I’ve never seen water such a ‘warning toxic chemicals, I will melt your flesh’ colour before.. Actually the background colour of our blog clashes, looks much greener in real life!
Bubbling Mud
It’s just awesome to watch. Mud that moves and plops about is endlessly mesmerising. I don’t know why :D Each mud hole has it’s own personality. Some aggressive, some pathetic, and a few comedians on there as well.
Can I get one for my garden please?
Legendary Fish and Chips
After all that sulphur one needs a hearty luncheon! And this my friends was by far the best yet. Two giant chunks of tasty fish aboard a raft of vinegary chips. Oh my god I’m dribbling just thinking about it. ‘The Legend’ in the pic: a local rodeo star hero pinned up on the wall of the pub. We just liked the cut of his jib.
Yep best fish and chips to date, fish to batter ratio much better with nice big chunks of fish. Cheese on top of the salad too, oh yes. Happily return to the Waiotapu Tavern for more :)
Rainbow Mountain’s Turquoise Tarn
A bit of a walk this arvo up Rainbow Mountain to stretch the legs. The volcanic rocks come in burgundy, orange, purple, yellow, grey, green, white and black. Hence the name I guess ;) Sweet view from the top too.Not an amazingly interesting walk, but I had read about a nice hot spring nearby called Kerosene Creek, sadly the trail down to it was closed.. Due to leg melting chemicals, who knows?Cook’s Booze at Taupo Wine Cellar
Captain Cook got to go round naming a bunch of stuff when he rocked up here back in the day. Nothing much escaped his imaginative naming strategy. “Hmmm I like this wine… What shall I name thee?”Spotted these bottles of Cook’s plonk at the largest wine cellar in New Zealand. They weren’t for sale though, on the ‘trip down memory lane section’.