Rotorua (2 days)

From Raglan, we made a stop at a popular surfing beach and a waterfall. Then we arrived in Rotorua and wanted to go straight to our accommodation, but we had to go to the information center in the city first because Lina didn't write down the address, she only remembered the name of the accommodation. There was Wi-Fi there, so I could look up the address and we took some flyers with us. Then we unloaded our things at the accommodation, got back into the car, and drove to the Redwoods Forest. We did a really nice 4.8km loop walk there before cooking noodles and falling tired into bed in the evening. The next morning started around 9 o'clock with the usual things (showering, having breakfast), so we started the day well. After a short drive, we arrived at the parking lot at Hell's Gate Geothermal Park and visited it, which houses the hottest waterfall at 40°C. Really impressive what the earth/nature is capable of (temperatures up to 120°C, so it steams/sizzles/throws mud), especially the smell, which is supposed to be reminiscent of rotten eggs due to the sulfur. We stayed there until about 2 o'clock, then our plan was actually to go to the accommodation, walk through Kuirau Park to the city, but unfortunately we couldn't follow this plan because it started pouring rain just as we arrived at our accommodation. So we got back in the car again, strolled through a mall and the shopping street, and ended up at the information center, where we searched the internet for a delicious, simple recipe so that we could make good use of the rest of the evening. We decided on a rice pan, went shopping, arrived at the accommodation, and the sun was shining, so we quickly took a short walk through Kuirau Park and then started cooking. So the day ended with a delicious rice pan. We will spend the next four nights in Napier.