The Whaka

Kia ora!
(This is the traditional Maori greeting spoken by many New Zealanders, so I figure I'll use it too!)

I'm writing this update from Rotorua, a city on the north island known for its geothermal activity. The area surrounding the town is called Whakarewarewa, which locals shorten to just "Whaka." In the Maori language, "wh" is pronounced like "f."

Rotorua is one of the most highly populated active geothermal areas in the world. The city has a funky smell that comes from the sulfur in the hot springs. In my family, this smell was known as "egg fart." The smell can be pretty potent in some places, but after a while I've gotten used to it. It's cool because the geothermal activity provides a lot of natural energy for the town. (Strangely enough, this town also has a ton of seagulls, which is odd since it's not a coastal town. I heard from a local it's one of the most inland places to have a significant population of seagulls... random. They are pretty aggressive seagulls too!)

My first full day here, I headed to one of the spas here which was built on the hot springs. I figured it'd be nice to get some pampering since I was tired from traveling, and the rain prevented most other activities. After enjoying a very relaxing facial, I spent a good amount of time in the spa pools, which stay open until 11pm. Each pool has a different temperature, starting at 36 degrees celcius and working up to 42. The spa is situated directly on Lake Rotorua so I enjoyed a great view while relaxing in the water:

Lounging in the hot springs, overlooking Lake Rotorua

The next day it was raining even harder, so instead of mountain biking, my new friend Willie and I decided to try zorbing, which is unique to Rotorua. Zorbing involves being harnessed inside a ball and then rolling down a hill. It was fun but went by all too fast.

View from the top of the hill

Willie and me at the zorbing hill... in the rain

The following day it was raining still (picking up on a theme here??), but I wanted to check out Wai-o-Tapu, a geothermal park right outside of town.  The first stop was to see the Lady Knox (also called the Pohutu geyser), an active geyser that "explodes" every day. After that I headed to the geothermal park where there's a great trail that took me all around these amazingly unique sites.

The Lady Knox geyser shooting hot water

Lots of steam coming from the geothermal pools

Geothermal wonder at Wai-o-Tapu

Crazy-colored geothermal pool

Some of the foliage at Wai-o-Tapu

In front of a cool green geothermal pool

Back in town, I met up with two of my new friends. They work at a sushi place here in Rotorua (by the way, one of the best things about NZ is that sushi is wicked cheap! One of the few cheap things that one can enjoy here :-)!)  After sushi we went to my favorite coffee shop in town, Zippy's.

Me, Shu, and Kim at Zippy's

Kim ordered an iced mocha, which was really a delicious blend of chocolate, ice cream, whipped cream, marshamallows, and M&M's. Sooooo yummy...

Later in the afternoon, the rain let up slightly so I went for a jog towards Kuirau park. Not only does the park have some of its own (free) hot pools, but it also has a very huge jungle gym type thing, geared towards children I'm sure, but which I, monkey that I am, simply had to climb. I didn't have my camera to take a photo, but it was awesome!

Last night I enjoyed a nice dinner out with new friends Sonia, from France, and Karima, from England. It has been so nice to meet other travelers, share stories, get tips, and make new memories.

With Sonia and Karima

Here's to many more adventures!