Monthly Archives: March 2015

March 3, 2015 Taupo, New Zealand

1 Reply

We drove the Thermal Explorer Highway from Rotorua to Taupo, occasionally seeing steaming vents puffing steam from deep inside the earth amid the scenic farmland.  It was easy to see all around us where the land had been pushed up leaving tall pointed hills. After about an hour drive we entered Taupo, a beautiful town hugging the shoreline of huge Lake Taupo.  With many shops and restaurants lining the shoreline, this town PicsArt_1425590488482appeared more like a resort town.We stopped for lunch and parked in a P60 space (60 minute limit).  We noticed what appeared to be sensors in the asphalt under each car.  We surmised these must be a kind of device that keeps track of how long you have been in that parking spot.
For the first time since we arrived in New Zealand we saw several souvenir shops.  We did not see any in Thames and Rotorua only had one.
We checked into our motel with a small fridge, microwave and private patio with table and chairs where we could sit in the mornings or afternoons and relax with coffee or a drink.  No plunge pool.  Once again we were given a container of milk for coffee or tea, so Bill uses it for his cereal.
While in Taupo we visited the Aratiatia Rapids.  This once natural whitewater gorge was damned up behind the gates of the Aratiatia hydro-dam. Due to public outcry over the loss of the rapids, four times a day the floodgates are raised and a torrent of river water rages again through the Aratiatia gorge.  Beginning eight minutes before the gates are PicsArt_1425591243364PicsArt_1425591328771PicsArt_1425590743304raised and at two minute intervals, bells and whistles sound.  We had a choice of three viewing platforms and chose to hike to the highest one.  We arrived early enough to grab a geocache close by the viewing platform.  Bill showed a family walking nearby with small children the geocache and explained geocaching.  The parents were intrigued and the children thought it was really neat!  By the time the gates were raised all three viewing platforms were full of observers.PicsArt_1425590862347PicsArt_1425590925548
Also while in Taupo we visited Huka Falls.  This is advertised as one of the most beautiful tourist attractions in New Zealand.  The Falls are a 100 meter basalt crevice channeling the Waikato River over a 15 meter ledge.  The falls were lovely though we felt the viewing areas did not provide a really great view of the falls. The water flows through the crevice or channel at 62,000 gallons per SECOND!PicsArt_1425591054510
Our last day in Taupo we spent geocaching.  We searched the geocaching.com site and chose several caches where people had given the caches many favorite mark.  We have found that geocaching in new places takes us to beautiful areas we would not ordinarily know about and see.  And this day did not disappoint with two geocaches that led us to a cave and one with a beautiful view of Lake Taupo.PicsArt_1425590393444PicsArt_1425590130933
Some observations:
Tipping is not expected and the service reflects this.  Once your order is taken and your food delivered, you never see the waiter again.  No one checks to see if you need anything or if you like your food.  If you need something you flag a waiter down.  We learned after waiting for our check a couple times that your check is not delivered to the table.  You go inside to the register and they ring up the bill.
Salad and bread is never provided with your entree.  They are separate items on the menu.
When you order water with your meal it rarely has ice and they give you a decanter since they won’t be coming back!
If you order a burger and it says it comes with a salad, the salad is the lettuce and tomato on the burger.  After waiting a couple times for the salad that never came, we figured it out.
If you order a side salad with your entree it is delivered with the meal, not ahead of time.
The mattresses are on the floor.  There is no space between the box springs and the bed.PicsArt_1425589966804PicsArt_1425589831860PicsArt_1425589618705

March 1, 2015 Rotorua, New Zealand

Leave a reply

 

We arrived in Rotorua and checked into our motel.  Our room had a private patio area with our own plunge pool.  It is similar to a hot tub but without the jets.  The motel owner gave us milkIMG_3558 for our tea or coffee and bottle of gel for the plunge pool.  We enjoyed the small fridge and microwave in the room.
Tour books say Rotorua is known by locals as RotoVegas because of the strip of hotels that resembles the Vegas Strip.  I can tell you that comparison is a real stretch with Rotorua being nothing like Vegas!  Thank heavens!  We learned on a hike that Rotorua was the fourth city in New Zealand to have electricity.
Rotorua is an active geothermal area and it is common to see steam rising from the ground.  Another thing you immediately notice is the smell of rotten eggs that permeates the town, with some areas being smellier than others.  Just as many places in the western United States have taken advantage of solar and wind turbine power, the people in the Rotorua area have taken advantage of the geothermal activity.  A sign at the motel PicsArt_1425459178526described how they use the geothermal energy to heat the water we used for showers.  When we filled the plunge pool up the first time we were amazed at the steaming hot water coming from the faucet and had to quickly add cold water.
On one of our days in Rotorua we drove to the Hamurana Springs Loop Walkway for a short walk through a forest of California Coast redwoods.  Yes, I said California coast!  The IMG_3570IMG_3571redwoods were planted in 1901 as an experiment to test the suitability of different forest species for commercial planting.  They discovered other trees were faster growing and more suited to this area.  It was a beautiful walk through the 200 feet tall redwoods but did not begin to compare to the redwoods in California we saw last year.
Next we visited Okere Falls and the Kaituna Rapids.  At seven meters, this is the world’s largest commercially operated rafted waterfall drop.  We hiked the trail down many steps to the falls IMG_3564overlook and a cave.  We hoped to see some rafters shoot thru the rapids.  We waited awhile with no luck and since we had more to do that day we hiked back to the car.
We finished the day at Kuirau Park.  What a unique park this was located centrally in the middle of Rotorua.  Where else could you see a children’s playground, a ballfield, barbeque pits, picnic tables and beautiful walking paths amid seething mudpits and PicsArt_1425457411657steaming cauldrons spewing from the earth?  We spent time walking around looking at all the steaming vents and boiling sputtering mud pits.  We came across a foot pool provided for people to soak their feet in clean water heated from the geothermal activity.  Some Japanese tourists were sitting PicsArt_1425457344589PicsArt_1425457254945IMG_3581enjoying the water and invited me to join them.  I put one foot in and was shocked at how hot the water was.  I took my now very pink foot out of the water and we continued on our way.  We decided to finish our time at the park by finding a geocache located close by.  As we were searching it dawned on us that a young New Zealand couple near us was looking for the same geocache.  We struck up a conversation with them and joined forces in the quest for the elusive geocache.  Eventually it was found and we signed the log and told our new friends farewell.  It sure was fun geocaching with them!
On our last day in Rotorua we decided to hike the Whaka-Rewa-Rewa Viewpoint Trek.  We had read that this trail would take us to a beautiful view of Rotorua and the Pohutu Geyser.  This geyser was recently ranked as one of the world’s top 5 geysers by Lonely Planet.  It is said to erupt 100 feet twenty times a day.  It is said that eruptions can last for several minutes to several IMG_3590IMG_3594IMG_3597days.  In 2000-2001 it erupted for a straight 250 days.
We parked in the carpark and hiked up and down a fairly difficult trail which at times was no more than a deeply rutted path.  By the time we got to the lookout we were pretty hot and tired and with no shade or place to sit, began the wait for an eruption.  After close to an hour we were discouraged and ready to give up.  A Kiwi (New Zealander) came by and told us due to a drop in the water table and more and more people tapping into the area’s geothermal resources, the dependability and frequency of eruption is changing.  Broiling in the heat and sunburning by the second we decided to give up.  The Kiwi told us a shorter and easier way to get back to the carpark.  Even though we only got pictures of the Pohutu Geyser teasing us with lots of steam, we still enjoyed the views of Rotorua and if truth be told the exercise wasn’t bad for us either.  We did spend some time in the plunge pool that night relaxing our tired muscles.
The next morning as we were heading out of Rotorua we stopped by the Ohinemutu Village to see the impressive museum and some Maori carvings.  We noticed a group playing a game on the village green.  We found out it is a type of bowling played there since 1901.PicsArt_1425458206166PicsArt_1425458157844PicsArt_1425458109684
Some observations:
I struggle a lot with different food in new places.  Bill will eat anything and has enjoyed venison pie and lamb.
I do love their shortbread cookies here!
Coffee is ridiculously expensive at a minimum of $3 USD for a medium cup at McDonald’s or anywhere.
You do not see health signs in restaurants warning of everything that can cause cancer or birth defects.