waimangu

From Matamata we continued to Rotarua. Rotarua is quite a touristy little town that attracts people for its thermal activity, extreme adventure sports, and maori cultural events. Because of the thermal/bolcanic activity there is...well a not-so-pretty stench. sulfur meets rotten eggs. heh lucky for all of you i cant download scrath and sniff photo :)

We spent 3 nights there in a nice hotel. our space was a 2 bedroom apt style room with a massive jacuzzi...the hotel was on a hotel lined road....quite similar to any US tourty area, but this is the first time i have seen this in NZ....

our first stop was the waimangu volcanic valley. it was stunning. you walk down through a variety of little pools, steaming rocks, and of course NZ ferns and greenery. we walked down to a boat and finished our lil hike at Lake Rotomahana. This was created in 1886 when an explosion completely transformed the entire area.





Inferno Crater was the most magnificent site. i have never seen water this colour. it was a crisp clear sky blue. looked inviting for a little swim. :)

during the hike up to the restaurant alex and i would pretend we were trees to hide from fellow passer byers...


most of these pics, altho i wish i could take credit for....were taken by Ilona and her new flash camera....no pun intended