Day 74: Rotorua Biking

How can you imagine Rotorua? Pictures can only poorly describe this. What is distinctive is what goes straight to your nose: the smell of sulfur from the geothermal springs. What is it like to live here? Can you get used to it?

Finally, it's a dry, sunny day that we're using for the world-famous mountain bike trails. There's even a shuttle that takes cyclists to the top of the mountain every day - except on Mondays. Take a wild guess which day it is today. So we dutifully pedal up the mountain multiple times and manage to climb 600 meters in two hours.

The trails are well-maintained and lead through redwoods and past tree ferns. What surprises us most positively is the atmosphere. Here in New Zealand, everyone rides a bike - from teenagers to retirees, whether it's a full suspension bike or an e-bike - all cyclists share the trails and greet each other friendly. We Germans are thrilled.

Tonight, we're staying again at the campground at Lake Rotorua, without any sulfur smell and right by the lake.