Day 22 (Rotorua) - Monday 10th October 2016

Pohutu Geyser

Rotorua is famous for its geothermal activity, and it's not unusual to see steam rising out of the gutter vents in the roads or from the hot springs you see around. There's no escaping the rotten-eggs smell from the hydrogen sulphide emissions, either.

Gondola and view of Rotorua

We started off the day with a gondola ride at Skyline Rotorua (which is found on the charmingly named Fairy Springs Road) and this took us up Mt Ngongotaha to have breakfast at the restaurant there. Once we'd eaten, we were able to go speeding (responsibly) down the mountain on the Rotorua Luge. This is a part go-cart, part toboggan ride and was fantastic fun (I went on it twice)!

We then headed to the Agrodome for an 'action-packed hour of farming entertainment and education that's unlike anything you've seen before.' Several people from our group fed the lambs or milked the cow.

Rotorua Library

I wandered around Rotorua in our free time in the afternoon and found the Rotorua Library (yeah, I'm on a worldwide library crawl - it's a bit like a pub crawl, but you end up well-read instead of well-drunk by the end of it). I also walked around the Government Gardens.

Later in the afternoon, we went to Te Puia. This is New Zealand's living Maori cultural centre where we were shown carving and weaving, and is also where mudpools and the Pohutu Geyser are found. The evening was rounded off with a Maori cultural performance and meal. We had to perform our own song, which we'd cobbled together at last night's evening meal (ours went to the tune of 'It's a long way to Tipperary').

Luge track

Luge track

At the Agrodome

At the Agrodome

Government Gardens

Rotorua Museum of Art & History

Rotorua art

Weaving at Te Puia

Mudpool

Karanga (welcome call)

Maori cultural performance

Maori cultural performance