Rotorua (22–24 February)

From Hamilton it was a short hour and forty minute bus ride to Rotorua, famed for its thermal pools, whitewater rafting, and permeating smell of sulphur.

22 February #

Sometimes you look out the bus window and wonder what the heck people were thinking. This is one of several sheet-metal buildings in Tirau that are shaped like animals.

The apartment we booked was just outside the Rotorua core, tucked behind a dental clinic. The building was quite new and industrial-looking on the outside, but the interior was decorated like a rustic hunting cabin. This was mildly bizarre but curiously interesting, and was definitely part of the reason we booked it.

23 February #

The next day we had booked a whitewater rafting trip on the Kaituna River with Rotorua Rafting. The rafting office is about twenty kilometres outside Rotorua itself, but fortunately the rafting company runs a reasonably-priced shuttle that picked us up right at our apartment.

On arrival we checked in, got our gear, and were taken by bus to the start of the river where we were assigned to rafts, given our safety briefing, and put in the water. Each raft can take six people plus a guide; there were four rafts in our group, so twenty-four people. We were the oldest people on our run, by at least two and a half decades.

We put in at a quiet part of the river and spent the first few minutes practicing paddling. Then it was off towards the more exciting bits. All the pictures on the river were taken by Rotorua Rafting, who had a team of photographers stationed along our route.

Here we are at the first falls. In our raft was us, a couple from California, and a couple from Brazil, plus our guide at the back. We were at the front of the raft, which Greg claimed on the theory that we might as well get the full experience. The kayaker in the red jacket was our safety boat. *(RR)*

Immediately after the first falls was a second… *(RR)*

… which we went down sideways, because why not? *(RR)*

Then we got to the big drop, which at seven metres is the highest commercially-rafted waterfall in the world. *(RR)*

Even our guide, Sam, who was certifiably nuts, took this one seriously. *(RR)*

And with good reason! That yellow smudge at the bottom of the picture is our raft, completely submerged in the falls. *(RR)*

But re-surface we did. The laws of buoyancy are wonderful. *(RR)*

After going down the high waterfall, it felt good just to be alive! *(RR)*

We attempted to surf down the next waterfall standing up, with mixed success. Look at Sam – we told you he was crazy. He also happens to be the founder and owner of Rotorua Rafting, and a multiple-time world rafting champion, so we knew we were in good hands, despite his constant wisecracking. As one of the other staff said later “he figures since he owns the place he can get away with saying anything, and he’s probably right.” *(RR)*

As one of the last bits before getting out, we pushed the raft upstream into the base of a small waterfall, so the people in the front would get flooded. And of course we each got a turn in the front. *(RR)*

Then it was back to the rafting office for a hot shower, a viewing of the pictures (which we obviously bought) and then our shuttle back to the apartment.

We celebrated our survival with dinner and beer at the Brew Craft Beer Pub, which is the home of Croucher Brewing. Good beer and tasty food.

On the way back to the apartment we passed these sculptures, which represent the Māori story of Hinemoa and Tūtānekai. Note also the charming art deco building in the background; there are more of those to come.

24 February #

You may recall we had tried to get a COVID booster in Brisbane, only to be defeated by Queensland’s somewhat bizarre guidance on when you can get your next shot. New Zealand’s rules are a bit more sensible (“at least six months since your last”) so we booked an appointment at a pharmacy near our apartment in Rotorua.

The pharmacist was happy to give us the boosters, but advised us we’d be better to wait a couple of weeks if we weren’t in a hurry, because New Zealand was about to roll out updated boosters targeting the more recent variants. We took her advice and re-booked in for 9 March in Picton. Maybe third time will be a charm? Stay tuned to find out!

Our plan for the 24th had included going to the Polynesian Spa for a day of relaxing in the thermal pools and mud baths, but that was not to be. Greg volunteers as Warden and webmaster with Camp 3 of the Corporation of the Seven Wardens, which is the organization responsible for the Iron Ring programme. Unfortunately Camp 3’s online sales system had gone down due to a server migration, so he ended up spending most of the day getting it functional again. This involved learning a whole lot about gunicorn and Supervisor, both of which are pretty cool, so it wasn’t a day wasted. Karen got some sewing done and played some puzzle games on her iPad.

By late afternoon Greg had the online sales up, tested, and running, so we went out for a walk. Along the way we encountered this striking (and currently unidentified) bird.

The earth beneath Rotorua is strongly volcanic. Just north of our apartment was Kuirau Park, which is the site of a large number of thermal vents and pools, some of which are literally boiling.

New pools are constantly popping up, and the old ones are expanding. These trees are victims of one growing pool.

Here’s Karen, taking a picture of something that’s not a plant, just for a change. As you can see, the more dangerous pools were all fenced off.

Selfie with sulphurous steam. Say that ten times fast.

There are thermal pools all over Rotorua and the town’s distinct sulphur smell is because of them. This walled-off pool was in a residential area near Lake Rotorua.

Saint Faith’s Anglican Church is on the shores of Lake Rotorua. One window facing the lake has an etching of Jesus, intended to look as though he’s walking on the water. Unfortunately the church was closed, so we couldn’t check it out.

Beside the church is this graveyard. Because of the thermal activity, the graves are all above-ground.

We walked along the lake shore and through Government Gardens. This is the Rotorua Museum, which was closed for renovations.

The Prince’s Gate Arches entrance to Government Gardens was originally built as the main decorative feature for the second royal visit to New Zealand.

After our walk we had dinner in town. On the way back to our apartment we passed several beautifully lit-up trees.

One other very important thing happened on February 24th. Alex (on the right), the husband of our eldest child Jared (left), was finally able to move from Arkansas to Ottawa, so he and Jared can really start their lives together. The two were married on 5 January 2023, but had to wait for Alex’s Canadian permanent residency to come through before the move. This is the two of them on the front steps of their house, on Alex’s arrival. We can’t wait to see them in June!

From Rotorua our next stop was Napier, where Greg got to meet his cousin Etty.