A much needed day of considerable rest. We departed Taupo fairly early because the town was ramping up for Iron Man this weekend and we wanted to get out before they started closing roads and diverting traffic.
On our short drive from Taupo to Rotorua we stopped off for a 2 hour hike to Huka Falls, yet another place we came to in the pouring rain in 2001. Last time we parked in the car park right next to the falls, jumped out of the car, had a quick looksy and then continued on our merry wet way, this time it was a glorious day and so we parked up river and followed a meandering trail along the Waikato river bank and after a while we started to hear the roar of the falls in the distance.
The falls were tremendous, not high like Yosemite but the sheer power and colour of the water pushing through the narrow canyon was staggering. Apparently the volume of water coming through every minute is equivalent to 5 Olympic pools or 220,000 liters every second. That is a LOT of water!
Our next stop was down a dirt track where we had a close encounter with a camper van whose driver clearly thought he was in a regular car and very nearly wiped us out. Fortunately and I have no idea how, we got away incident free…thank goodness!
Once our hearts stopped racing we continued on to Kerosine Creek to bathe in the natural hot springs. We heard about this spot from a couple on the Waitomo Black Water Rafting Tour and I am so glad we could remember the name and be able to locate it.
A very short stroll in our swimmies brought us to a thermal swimming hole. There were about 20 other people there but it was plenty big enough for everyone.
A wide powerful waterfall cascaded down into the pool pouring hot sulphurous water on anyone who choose to stand underneath it. It felt really good and it was the perfect treat after our long hike yesterday.
There are a number of fancy thermal spas in Rotorua and we had planned to perhaps spend the afternoon at one of them but after lazing in this rustic little spot with the sunlight filtering through the trees, the insects chirping and our toes buried down into the warm sandy bottom, we didn’t feel any need to pay to go into an upscale spa and to be honest, we walked past one later in the day and it was swarming with coach parties so I think we made the right decision. For us rustic almost always seems to be more enjoyable than luxury, almost.
So instead of the luxury spa experience, once we’d pitched our tent at a campsite on the edge of town, we spent some time wandering around Rotorua and came to the conclusion it really has had its day. We did however have an epic ice cream (unbelievably the first one of the trip) from the Lady Jane Ice Cream Parlor at the end of Eat Street. Hokey Pokey has a special place in the hearts of Kiwis and why not, creamy vanilla with honeycomb chunks is a winning combination – yum yum!
That evening we returned to town and had dinner at Terrace Kitchen, which we’d discovered on our afternoon wanderings. It was a fabulous spot which had opened recently by a chef who could see there was a gap in the market for a quality restaurant in Rotorua. It was outstanding, everything from the architecture, the contemporary décor, the lip smacking cocktails and above all, incredible food which included mussel fritters, venison and smoked steak. The only let down was our clueless French waitress who didn’t know her way around the menu and seemed to think that the best way to serve the table was to beguile you with her accent.