The Smell Of Rotten Eggs.... (Written offline on November 8th)

…. is the smell I will remember when I am gonna think back to our last weekend in New Zealand.

We're now in Rotorua since yesterday (Sunday 7^th), where we will stay until tomorrow morning before leaving to Hamilton on our way back to Auckland.

When we took off yesterday morning in Turangi/Lake Taupo, we stopped a few times to take some breathtaking pictures of Taupo and its surroundings. Although very tourist-y, it still is an extremely lovely place, and living here must be delightful!

After having a quick snack in one of its cafes, we continued on the Thermal Explorer Highway until we reached the famous Huka Falls just out of Taupo. I can say I was pretty amazed by them! We were even lucky enough to spot one of the Jetboats that take tours right up to the falls. Pictures will be up on FlickR soon. I am writing this offline again, as we could get internet access here, but I really don't feel like spending 10 NZD for only 50 MB traffic, so we will wait until getting to Hamilton tomorrow afternoon.

Anyhoo, after the Huka Falls, we reached our first planned destination for that day: The „Thermal Wonderland“ in Wai-O-Tapu, about 30 km below Rotorua.

Wow. Just wow. We've seen it so many times already on TV on various travelling programmes - but nothing comes close to the real thing. Although I could've done without the unimaginable smell of foul eggs that hits you full stop as soon as you get close to the place. It's the smell of the sulphur, and it is totally overwhelming. Unfortunately, we didn't learn off our White Island experience, obviously, and forgot to take sweets and water to get rid of that smell, so we had to endure about 2,5 hours in the areal without any of them.......... the sights were worth the bouts of sickness that overcome you about every 100 m.

Our planet is a miracle, and Thermal Wonderland is one of the places where you can feel it in every single cell of your body.

A shower was much needed and appreciated once we got to our hotel here in Rotorua!

Later in the evening, we had our much anticipated Maori culture show and Hangi dinner (the food is cooked in a geothermal oven in the ground, and I can tell you guys, it tastes divine).

No. This is not me cheating on Rob :p This is me, getting taught how to properly do the „Hongi“, the traditional Maori greeting. Mind you, it has nothing to do with the apparent nose rubbing the eskimos do. You just shake hands, and press your noses against each other twice. It is meant to be the exchange of breath of life.

We later participated in the cultural show, I did a Poi dance and Rob did the Haka (no there won't be any pics, too embarrassing, and besides, our camera ran out of battery :D

It was a wonderful experience, a night to remember for sure.

Today, after a lie-in, we went to The Thermal Village of Whakarewarewa, a traditional Maori village where the descendants of ancient Maori tribes still live and use the geothermal energy to cook their food, fill their baths, heat their houses. I have no idea how they manage to live in that smell, nor how they manage to let their kids play right next to a spring that contains 138 C degrees hot boiling water.......... but we have seen the kids, and they seem MUCH happier and capable of life than those spoilt kids we know!

It was soooo interesting to walk through that Village, see how the Moari live, what they do, and hear the stories they had to tell.

Unfortunately, the famous Pohutu Geyser which apparently goes off at least once hourly decided to fool us today, as we waited almost 2 hours for it to blow off, but in vain. Oh well, you can't have everything, can you?

After a dinner at a Thai restaurant we're now watching TV in our TV bed before heading over to our sleep bed (yes we have 2 queen beds in the room!) before checking out at 10 tomorrow and head towards Hamilton........... not without taking a look at „The Shires“ in Matamata before!