Colours! Some stinky, some not stinky

On our way from Rotorua to Taupo we had two colourful stops.

Wai o Tapu Thermal Park - more steamy, stinky stuff. 

Exploding bubbling mud - boiling hot and steamy.

Watching the Lady Knox geyser erupt

Then we walked around the multiple pools displaying all the colours of the rainbow which result from the presence of different minerals in the ground as the boiling water and sulphur forces its way to the surface. This one is called the Champagne Pool.

The Champagne Pool from the other side.

Still the Champagne Pool. It was quite large with steam blowing across it.

This lake was not so hot and the green is caused by an algae that likes the warm water.

The aqua Oyster Pool in the middle of a mud pan.

Tiny terraced patterns form by repeated build up of minerals and silt. 

Totally natural colour! Looks nuclear and toxic. It is not nuclear reactive but you wouldn't want to fall in.

Lava Glass art studio, cafe and garden.

We ate a delicious lunch, watched the artist at work, Loretta bought a large glass bowl and we explored the colourful garden. Fascinating. It was really cool to see the glass artist working with molten glass, layer upon layer, thousands of degrees hot, explaining what he was doing as he worked.

One way of getting permanent colour in your garden. No need to water.

Loretta - our intrepid tour leader and organizer extra-ordinaire. Lake Taupo in the background.

Stinky stuff

We spent two days in and around Rotorua which is quite a steamy, stinky, sulphurous town, sitting as it does in one of the most geologically active volcanic areas of New Zealand.

People live right beside erupting geysers. (look closely in the middle to see people under the steam.) We did a tour of a Maori village. They building steam boxes over vents to cook food, divert the hot water into bathing areas, and sometimes have to demolish their houses and move when new vents open up under the houses. The tour ended with a performance of traditional songs and dances.

After lunch we went for a walk in the redwood forest where the air was sweet and calm. No steaming sulphur here, just an incredible suspended walkway high up above the ground. The non-native redwood trees were planted over a a hundred years ago and have created a very beautiful forest on the edge of Rotorua. 

Then it rained! We retreated to our rented house via a gift shop, but after the rain we explored a park in the middle of the town. It was hard to keep our group in sight through the stinky steam. We did get separated for a while. One section of boarded walkway had been closed as it was sinking into the hot mud and boiling water which spreads and moves constantly.

Unfortunately, no time for mountain biking in the pine forests or up the gondola on the hillside above Rotorua but it was an interesting and enjoyable couple of days. There was an arcade game competition outside my bedroom in our holiday house. Think classics - spade invaders, pacman etc. Not sure if Fiona or Loretta won but it was pretty serious for awhile.

I am going on an adventure

Actually, I have returned already from a 3 week adventure in the North Island of New Zealand.

My New Zealand adventure began by meeting up with the rest of 'The Six' at Auckland airport. After spending a couple of hours getting through customs, during which my already spotlessly clean riding boots were taken away and dipped in disinfectant, just in case; we then drove 2 hours to the lovely small city of Hamilton to stay the night and have a delicious Vietnamese dinner. Left to right - Lisa, Deb, Loretta, Fiona, Pen.

Hamilton Gardens. Wow! A series of garden rooms inspired by gardens from different historical periods, each one entered by a narrow doorway revealing a wow moment. A pre-colonial sweet potato garden at the top of this post. And then....Egypt

Tudor England - dragons and unicorns on poles

Persia - magic carpet ride, anyone?

Surrealist art garden. We had to avoid 'falling' through the floor in the entrance.

A giant door. There was also a giant wheelbarrow and deckchair.

The 'trees' had branches that moved. These strange trees are ivy growing over a motion-animated structure. 

Modernist cloud pool. 

 

Japanese pond and zen garden on either side of a pavilion

And many more. Each entrance was a new moment of wonder.

Next stop - Hobbiton - a complete Hobbit town created as a movie set for the Lord of the Rings movies.

Our tour guide told us numerous stories from the filming. Things such removing all the leaves from apple trees and replacing them with hundreds of thousands of wired on silk leaves to make them look like plum trees. 44 hobbit holes have been permanently reconstructed.

They are not full homes, just facades with an empty two metre deep room behind the door, but the attention to detail outside is amazing, including real veggie gardens, washing hanging on lines, models of food etc....

Our tour ended with a free cider in the Green Dragon Inn.

Final stop of the day was a quick look at the museum building in Rotorua. Built in 1907 as a bath house, it has been closed since 2016 due to earthquake damage.