Rotorua
Trip Start
Nov 15, 2006
1
12
228
Trip End
Jul 15, 2008
Where I stayed
Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand
Monday, December 4, 2006
Rotorua, N.Z.
38º (degrees) 08.036 minutes South; 176º (degrees) 14.459' (minutes) East
We took the Intercity bus from Auckland, this morning, and arrived in Rotorua by mid afternoon. Rotorua is a city in the district of New Zealand of the same name. The city is in the caldera of an extinct volcano, and there's plenty of steaming hot pools and bubbling holes of hot mud scattered around. The air reeks of rotten eggs. We came here to see the thermal pools and that wasn't hard. They're everywhere. You can hard walk straight for 100 meters without stepping into one. The city park is dotted with them. Some are set up nicely for soaking your tired feet in.
Our Lonely Planet guidebook recommended the Kiwi Paka YHA as a quiet spot for the older backpacker on outskirts of town. But when we checked in it was about as quiet as a grade school summer camp with no adult supervision. A couple dozen pre-teenage kids had taken over the place. We hate to complain, but the double room we asked for turned out to have two twin beds squeezed a space hard able to hold one. So we've already booked the Nomad Backpacker for tomorrow. It's in the busy center of town where we can get some rest. It's interesting how New Zealand hostels use the back packer label in their names. This is a country that prides itself on the outdoors experiences it has to offer, and the term backpacker just fits in with that whole rugged, youthful adventure tourism theme.
If the kids quiet down maybe we can get some sleep tonight. We'll need it because we have a big day planned for tomorrow.
