Geothermal Rotorua

Photos

We had an 8:10am start. We were up before 6am and that is when our included breakfast buffet at the Novotel began. We headed on down about 6:45am. The buffet was not really ready of business and didn't get that way until after 7:15am when we left. We had a bit of unpleasantness at check in as she wanted us to charge the buffet to our room and we understood it was included in what we paid already. I told her we'd go to the desk and clear it up. She then explained that she could look us up on her computer and see the same information. I don't know why she just didn't do that to start. She found our reservation and agreed that we had pre-paid for a full cooked breakfast. We didn't quite get that either since the order check didn't appear until 7:15am and we were leaving by then. Geez. It was not a great buffet. The bacon was raw. There were no glasses anywhere. On the plus side, they did have small BBQ pork steamed buns in the Asian section.

We were picked up right on time by a 12 passenger van. There were already 3 passengers in the van and there were 6 of us waiting at the Novotel. There was supposed to be one more couple, but due to some miscommunication they had gone to the visitor's information center for pickup. We waited 10 minutes for them and then left so the rest of us would get the tour we booked. The operator was Elite Adventures. We did the morning tour of the thermal park. Wai-O-Tapu. Think a less spectacular version of Yellowstone.. Their geyser goes off right on time because they pour a big bag of detergent down the gullet to break surface tension. It is still a geyser, but that was weird. I would bet we walked 5km this morning, almost all of it on hills or stairs and again there had been no fitness advisory. There was rain forecast at 60% chance all day. It started out very sunny and eventually became mostly cloudy but it didn't rain. We got back about 1pm. My feet were sore and my ankles were swollen and my now 3 blisters hurt. Our hotel has a geothermal spa at the gym so that is where I headed. I had a few minutes soak. You could get in up to your neck! It would have been intense. I only got in up to my knees. It was pretty amazing. Clay said he left the gym and rode up the elevator with a couple who had been in their swimsuits and up to their necks and that the elevator was reeking from they geothermal water! I was happy to have a chance to try it, but I would want to be immersed in it!

We went over to Eat Street looking for a light lunch of sandwiches as it was late and we have some kind of banquet tonight. We didn't find any. We shared a pizza. It still hasn't rained. I hope it doesn't rain tonight!

Tonight we are doing Te Puia Te Po Hangi and concert with guided tour. I'll let you read about it and post this now.

We had a good visit and dinner last night. I can recommend it. We were picked up at 4pm and returned after 9pm. It turned out to be a lot more walking and standing around than expected though it was all wheelchair accessible. The geysers were more like we expected after Yellowstone. Which is to say if you only see one here go to Te Puia.  We got to see a rare 3 geysers erupt at once. We also finally saw a live kiwi bird! Bigger than expected.

Photos