Nächstes Stop Rotorua

Rotorua is a city with a geothermal landscape. Everything smells like sulfur and smoke often emerges from the ground right in the middle of the city. It is very spectacular to walk around the park and see everything smoking and steaming. Our campsite was right by Lake Rotorua. According to the lady at the reception, there is a hot beach where you can dig holes and bathe, similar to the Hot Water Beach. Unfortunately, it was a total disaster... The beach was full of trash and there were lots of small plastic pieces floating in the water, so we decided not to go in. The good thing about our campsite was that it had natural hot pools (which is not uncommon in Rotorua and the surrounding area due to geothermal activities), which we enjoyed instead of the hot pools by the lake.

The next day, we decided to visit a wildlife park with birds, fish, and reptiles. It was very interesting. When we booked through CamperMate, we got a very good discount and a tour of a kiwi breeding center. Eggs that are damaged or left alone are brought to the breeding center, where the egg is incubated as naturally as possible, the kiwi chick is raised, and as soon as it is big enough to survive, it is sent back into the wild. Seeing that was something completely new. There was also a bird show with various extraordinary birds. In the evening, we took part in a Maori village tour with traditional dances and dinner (Hangi). That was a very good decision. We had a super funny bus driver who explained to us in advance what was going to happen. We had a welcome ceremony and were introduced to various aspects of Maori culture (dance, games, and history). After that, there was a traditional performance and a dinner accompanied by music. It was a beautiful evening and we met many new people. Two lovely Czech people recommended a great campsite with a huge thermal pool nearby, so we decided to spend the next night there since we were planning to stay in Rotorua for another day.

Before heading to this campsite the next day, we stopped at a small museum to see old buildings and learn about the history of the "White and Pink Terraces". However, they are no longer accessible because a volcanic eruption caused them to be submerged in a lake. After the museum, we drove to a lake and had lunch there. When we finished eating, we went to a park and hiked up a hill to see Rotorua from above. We could see many small and large plumes of smoke all over the city. As it got dark, we took a walk through the Redwood forest. It may not sound spectacular, but it's like a high ropes course there. You walk from tree to tree on small suspension bridges, and everything is beautifully illuminated in different colors. It was very interesting and they had many lanterns hanging. We were glad we did it. Then we followed the advice of the two Czech people and drove to the campsite with the thermal pool. We couldn't have made a better choice because it started raining and getting really cold. So we warmed up in 39 degree natural pools and had a great sleep.

The next day, we woke up very early to go bathing again in the morning. After the bath, we drove to a geothermal valley. There, we witnessed a geyser eruption at 10 o'clock. It was interesting to see a geyser erupt. When the geyser show was over, we went to the associated park. It was incredible. Even though it rained from time to time and it smelled incredibly bad, the landscape was really beautiful. Craters everywhere, green and yellow lakes, red edges, bubbling mud, and so on. Everything looked so dangerous. Such toxic colors. But take a look at the pictures, maybe you can imagine it better then. It was a really exciting time. One experience after another. The park visit took about 2.5 hours, so we immediately made our way back to Whakatane to be able to do our White Island tour the next day. So next stop, back to Whakatane :D