North Island: Reloaded

After a brief trip north, we began our journey south on Wednesday through the rolling green hills of North Island—“it looks just like Yorkshire”, Rosie claimed. First stop was the village of Waitomo to do some black water rafting. Previously I had done the high-octane half-day trip but since we were short on time, this visit was more of a relaxed walk and float through the vast cathedral-like glowworm caves. Our guide gave an entertaining and detailed account of the biology of the glow worms and the geology of the caves, and even knew them well enough to guide us through the floating parts illuminated by only the light of the glow worms themselves which was amazing.

Later in the afternoon the Magic bus took us into Rotorua with just enough time for a quick dip in our hostel’s hot pool before changing and heading out to the Tamaki Maori village for a cultural evening. The Tamaki put on an impressive show of traditional song and dance, but unfortunately the educational part of the evening was rather short, and outside in the freezing cold, which meant I didn’t enjoy it as much as the Mitai cultural performance I attended last time. On the other hand, since this is the show promoted by the main backpacker tour operators, our table for dinner was mostly other backpackers and the company was good.

The next morning the bus driver gave us a quick tour of Rotorua which we would have otherwise missed. Because of all the geothermal springs, it seems it was originally founded as NZ’s first spa town and has some really attractive formal gardens and Edwardian buildings in a lake-side setting—a lovely place except for the constant and pungent sulphur smell. 🙁

Heading out of town we saw the Lady Knox Geyser and then Wai-o-tapu thermal wonderland. Previously I had found these rather dull and uninspiring, but coming from the north the weird landscape made a enjoyable and fascinating change from the green rolling hills which had become somewhat monotonous, and in the sunshine the greens, reds and pinks of the volcanic pools were vivid and shocking. I think it also helped that we limited ourselves to only the main 50 min walking track instead of attempting the full 75 min walk as it meant we escaped the sulphuric stench just as our stomaches began to rebel. After a “not as good as last time” experience the night before, it was great to find something I was glad to have re-visited!

Photos!

Picasa web album
NZ 2008: Rotorua and Wellington

One Response to “North Island: Reloaded”

  1. cheaper fares Says:

    Hi mate, try nakedbus next time you come to nz. Their fares start from $1 which is awesome especially if you’re on a tight budget.