The drive from Hahia to Rotorua was long, in New Zealand terms, at 220km and three hours.  I broke it up at Paeroa, however, stopping to visit Helen (who I met in Cromwell-see that blog post) for an hour.  She had asked if I could stay to dinner, but I declined, knowing I would get into Rotorua too late to check in at the campground.  Leaving Paeroa, however, I did make one additional stop on the way after saying goodbye to Helen.  My route passed by the Karangahake gorge, which was an old gold mining site.  The gorge still had old equipment scattered around and a bunch of hiking trails marked with signage explaining the history of the area.  As an added benefit, some of the trails went through mining tunnels!  So I decided a stop to stretch my legs and explore the trails was a great idea.

As I parked, I noticed a huge number of large groups standing around in what appeared to be organized tours.  I headed for the trail that had the tunnels on it, trying to get ahead of the groups,  and decided to walk about an hour down the trail and then return- I still had a long drive to Rotorua to complete!  The trail crossed two swinging bridges spanning the two rivers that met at the intersection of where the mining camp had been positioned.  The gorge was deep, and the river raced between narrow, steep, walls.  The miners built the three-story processing building directly into the side of the mountain, and some of the foundations remain.  As I walked through the remains of the mining infrastructure, stopping to read the history, I kept running into more of the large groups—clearly there was a big tour happening. The walkways were narrow so foot traffic jams were constant.

The gorge. The mining facilities were built right into the steep walls, along with tunnels and rail.

The tunnels were cool (literally!) with moisture dripping off the walls. The rail tracks for the mining cars were still in place and puddles formed in between the railroad ties, requiring attention to footing.  Flashlights were a must to go through the tunnel although I got by with the light on my cell phone.  The walls were rough cut and occasionally wood beams had been placed for reinforcement of the walls and ceiling.  I had a moment to myself in one of the tunnels and turned off my light and was immediately surrounded by inky darkness; I am sure miners used to carry spare matches and lights!  In a few places other tunnels branched off the main trail, but when I followed them, I found locked gates, keeping the public out of unsafe areas.  I emerged on the other side of the tunnels and walked for another 30 minutes, contemplating turning around when I came upon a women with a radio standing by the side of the path.  We started talking and that was when I found out why there were so many large groups running around.  Apparently, there is going to be a big convention in Auckland (of Jehovah witnesses, go figure) and one of the sightseeing trips planned is a tour of the gorge.  So, the tour organization was doing a dry-run, shepherding the same number of people and groups around the trails to wring out their process.  She was one of the many people stationed at different places along the trail to keep an eye on things.  We had a nice conversation, and I headed back. The walk back took me a little less than an hour as I did not stop to read the signs and many of the groups had finished.

Entrance to one of the tunnel sections that the trail went through. Lights are required! You can’t see the other side of the tunnel all the time.

By the time I got to Rotorua, via several detours, due to closed roads and construction, I was done driving for the day.  My three-hour drive had turned into a close to four-hour drive so when I got to the campground, I plugged the van in, got out my camp chair and sat in the sun and planned my activities for Rotorua.  Rotorua sits in the middle of a large geothermally active area that stretches from the Bay of Plenty in the northeast down to the volcanos in the center of the North Island near Lake Taupo.  Consequently, there are a lot of hot springs, geysers and other ground water activity around the city.  I visited Rotorua in 1990, during my first visit to New Zealand, but since it has been 35 years, I decided to visit some of the same areas I had before.  Another popular activity in Rotorua is to visit one or more of the many Māori cultural centers.  The Māori have been in the area for hundreds of years and the current population is about 40% Māori.

First thing the next morning I headed south to visit the Waimangu Volcanic Valley, about 20 minutes from Rotorua. The volcanic rift valley was formed in 1886 when Mt. Tarawera erupted unexpectedly.  The eruption created Frying Pan Lake, the largest hot spring in the world and increased the size of the nearby Lake Rotomahana by twenty times.  The walking trail at the site lead through the rift valley and craters created by the eruption, ending at the lake, allowing me to follow the story of the eruption.  I decided to add the optional boat tour of Lake Rotomahana to my ticket and get the whole experience.  Of the three geothermal parks I visited (more on the other two later), I have to say that Waimangu was my favorite because I was walking through the craters/rift valley and could easily picture what had happened.  It was also extremely interesting to see the different stages the vegetation has gone through to return to the area.

Frying Pan Lake. That is steam (not mist) coming off the lake.

The area is still very active and not only did Frying Pan Lake have steam coming off it, but random spots in the surrounding rocky cliffs also had active venting. Different mineral deposits stained the rock white, yellow, orange and pink and occasionally I could see water bubling up.  The pictures can only provide a minimal insight into the experience.  What pictures cannot convey is the heat from the vents, the pervasive smell of sulfur and the cacophony of bubbling, gurgling and hissing from the disturbed water. It seemed like the very Earth was talking. It took about an hour and a half to walk, downhill into the rift valley the whole way, from the visitor center to the boat dock on Lake Rotomahana; it was an interesting and enjoyable walk. The boat tour made a circuit of the lake, including a closer view of the eruption craters on Mt. Tawawera, another crater formed as part of the lake and shoreline geysers.  An easy bus ride back to the visitor center was the end of the tour.

Here is an example of a small active geyser and also some of the colors that are created by mineral deposits.

I had booked a Māori cultural experience with dinner included that evening but as I still had a few hours before I had to be at the bus pickup in the city center, I decided to go to soak in some hot springs.  I wandered over to the Polynesian Spa, located on the edge of Lake Rotorua, which had numerous public and private springs available—both slightly acidic and slightly alkaline ranging from temperatures of 100F to 106F.  It was a warm afternoon and thus the public area was not crowded so I remained there, bouncing from one spring to another before finding one I liked.  It was peaceful and I spent a couple of hours there before heading to the shower to get ready for my evening event.  My timing was perfect because as I was leaving, larger tourist groups were starting to arrive, so it was about to be a bit more crowded!

Random spots around Lake Rotomahana have active vents. Apparently there are active vents under the deep lake.

We had a full bus for the evening cultural experience and dinner.  After about a 15-minute drive south out of Rotorua, we arrived at the Māori village complex. Our tour guide had selected our “Chief” and I knew what to expect for a greeting ceremony based on my experience at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds earlier. There were several more individuals involved in the greeting ceremony than had been at the Treaty Grounds, but the process was the same- an intimidating greeting, followed by an offering of peace, accepted by our “Chief”, then we were invited into the village.  Once there we got split into smaller groups and roamed from learning station to learning station which covered the haka (and yes, we got taught the moves), home and family, warrior training, and song and dance.  We also were served various tasty appetizers as we rotated.  After everyone had experienced all of the stops, we were led to the meeting hall where the group performed some native songs and dance, including a haka with both women and men.  I thoroughly enjoyed the event!

The greeting/challenge that kicked the night off. Our “Chief” had to pick up the offered branch to show our peaceful intentions before we were invited in.

Our dinner included food prepared the traditional way (altered to meet NZ public health standards…) having been cooked underground on hot rocks and steamed for several hours.  The meal was excellent consisting of salad, mussels, lamb, beef, tons of veggies, and dessert.  I was pleasantly stuffed and after getting back to the campground and plugging in my van, headed directly to sleep.

The next morning I visited Wiaotapu Thermal Wonderland, another geothermal site.  As I walked around it, I remembered parts of it from my visit decades ago—mainly because the mineral deposits were so colorful and numerous actively bubbling pools and fissures.  The champaign pool, a deep blue pool with an orange mineral crust around the edges, is especially memorable.  Steam rose from the water and along the edges there was a constant fizzing of small bubbles frothing at the surface just like – a glass of champaign….Wiaotapu also had several boiling mud pools, the deep viscous mud creating deep, throaty gurgles as the steam fought its way to the surface.  The numerous deep craters hosted fissures at the bottom that revealed themselves by the hiss of the steam forcing its way out of a confined space.  And again, everywhere was the smell of sulfur.  (As a matter of fact, even in the city center and at the campground I would get whiffs of sulfur on the breeze.) After a couple of hours wandering around watching nature in action, I ran a few errands and then set off for my next adventure—a visit to Hobbiton.

Close up of the CO2 bubbling up around the edges of Champaign Pool (see featured picture).

This pond is hot with a pH of 2. Not recommended for a swim!

Lake Ngakoro, where the water from Waiotapu hot springs drain, stays warm enough to host algae growth, hence the striking green color.

Anyone who is a Lord of the Rings fan knows that the trilogy, and the three Hobbit movies, where filmed extensively in New Zealand.  One of the most well-known sites is the film set for Hobbiton, created from scratch in the middle of a farmer’s field near the small town of Matakana.  The topography, green gentle rolling hills, attracted the location scout’s attention during a helicopter ride over the area.  To build Hobbiton they had to move tons of dirt to sculpt the area to the movie vision, a road to get everyone into the site, then the hobbit holes and gardens.  It was a massive effort.  After filming the Lord of the Rings, most of the set was removed, but when it was time to film the Hobbit, it all had to be re-created.  This time when the filming was completed, the set remained—and became a HUGE tourist attraction.  Being a Lord of the Rings fan since I was little girl, I had to go…..

Gandalf! At the Hobbiton visitor center where the tours leave from.

The tour experience is a well-oiled machine.  You check in at the visitor center and are put on a bus to take you to the site, about a ten-minute drive.  Tours leave every ten minutes and from start to finish requires 2.5 hours.  I asked our tour guide and they typically host 2300 people a day in the summer months, much fewer in the winter, although they are open.  The bus drops you off on the road into Hobbiton where Gandalf meets Frodo at the beginning of the first movie.  We received some information on how the filming was done to compensate for the fact that the actors were not, indeed, hobbits and smaller than others.  But as we came around the bend in the road, Hobbiton spread out in front of us—hobbit holes everywhere.  The team running the site spends a lot of time keeping things maintained down to the last detail, even adding hobbit holes occasionally.  For example, there are hobbit holes for a baker, cheesemaker, wheel right, dairy, town drunk, fishermen- basically anything you might find in a village.  Bilbo’s tree and the party green, the mill house and the Green Dragon Inn are all represented.  Most of the hobbit holes are facades, the interior shots having been filmed on a film stage elsewhere.  However, two hobbit holes had interiors completed, mainly for the sake of the tours, but it was kind of fun because we got to go in.  The tour ended with a beverage of your choice (beer or soda) at the Green Dragon Inn before getting on a bus to go back to the visitor center.  So I can say I’ve been to Hobbiton (more or less).

Visiting Frodo and Bilbo at Bag’s End. Unfortunately this is one of the hobbit holes that is just a facade.

However, we could go in to another hobbit hole, which was remarkably roomy and incredibly detailed in its furnishing. Easy to imagine someone living there.

An hour’s drive got me back to the campground for my last night in Rotorua and I was dismayed to find yet another school group staying (and running around everywhere) so I expected to be up early the next morning for my drive to my next stop-Lake Taupo.