My NZ: Riveting Rotorua

From Auckland it is a four hour journey by coach to Rotorua, 230 km away. For me the 'geothermal wonderland' of Rotorua is New Zealand, so this city/region is a definite on our itinerary. Even as the coach pulled into town there was the lingering sulphur smell in the air, sign of Rotorua's geothermal landscape. 'Rotorua lies atop a geothermal field that makes it presence known with incredible geysers, bubbling mud pools, hot mineral pools and silica terraces'.

We were lucky to arrive on the day of the week (Thursday) that the night market is held. Situated in the heart of Tutanekai Street, it gave us a good introduction to the foods and peoples. There were many artisan foods on sale, including chocolates, sweets, breads, cheese, etc. There was the Maori Hangi stall selling hangi (earth oven) foods. We had some hangi bread and it was simply delicious with Manuka honey. There were international stalls as well (Thai, Lebanese, Spanish, etc.). Entertainment was by local musicians.

The next day saw us going to Matamata for the Hobbiton tour in the morning (I will write a separate post on this). On coming back to Rotorua in the afternoon, we enjoyed a relaxing soak in the geothermal waters of the Polynesian Spa by the Lake Rotorua. The spa pools have waters at 41 degrees Celsius and hot mineral bathing is reputed to cure some ills. But that would entail soaking for a long, long time, many, many times, eh? No wonder Rotorua has been a popular spa retreat since the late 19th century.

Lake Rotorua (CNB 2014)

At the Polynesian Spa 

The Rotorua Museum, situated in the Government Gardens, is indeed a sight to behold. The beautiful Tudor style building must be a most photographed landmark. Its setting in the well manicured lawns and pretty flowerbeds of the gardens must add to its attraction too. Unfortunately we did not make it to explore the exhibitions within as it was closed when we found ourselves there.

Three Pukeko birds in the Government Gardens (CNB 2014)

Rotorua Museum at 'dusk' 

We mostly walked around town from our accommodation at the Rydges Hotel at the end of Fenton Street. There are many interesting buildings in Rotorua, some of which are wooden. We chanced upon a Quilt Exhibition at the pretty wood building of the Arts Village, and came across the historic Pig & Whistle Pub of 1940's architecture with Maori decorative details.

Quilt exhibition at the Arts Village (CNB 2014)

Rotorua Arts Village building (CNB 2014)

The Pig & Whistle Pub (CNB 2014)

Of course no visit to Rotorua is complete without a peek into the living thermal Maori village of Te Whakarewarewa. I will write of this in another blog post.