Rotorua Hot Springs & Waimangu

Today we didn't venture far from Rotorua for all of our activities before making our way to Auckland. 

After breakfast, we drove about half an hour to some hot springs at Kerosene Creek. Allan had been to these before and had good memories of it. When we got there and bumped down the dirt road, there was only one other van parked there. Our plan to leave and arrive early to have the creek to ourselves seems to have worked. We got our things packed into a backpack and wandered into the forest and down the path. We followed the creek until the forest opened up a little bit and there was a ledge in the dirt where people clearly go in and out of the water. 

We got our bathing suits on, and Allan went in first. After the last free, natural pool was a bit chilly, he tested it out. He said it was much warmer than the one yesterday in Taupo, so I climbed down and met him in the tea tree colored water. It was warm, but it wasn't hot. It was the temperature of a nice bath that you've sat in for about 15 minutes and is still warm, but starting to get too cold to sit in for long. There was a waterfall here that Allan popped under, but it was a bit too powerful to sit under for long. When we dug our feet into the sand, we could feel the heat coming from the earth. It was the only thing keeping me warm enough to stay in the mineral-rich water. 

Once I got too chilly to stay in, we made our way back up the creek to a different section to see if it was warmer further up, rather than downstream. We waded into the small pool, and the temperature didn't feel that different. The waterfall was smaller and gentler here though, so Allan enjoyed a waterfall back massage while I dug my feet into the sand to feel the warm earth. When I got too cold again, I got out and into my dry clothes and Allan got out shortly after. We walked back to the car and drove five minutes down the road to the next thermal pool.

The Hot 'n' Cold pool was under an overpass on a small road. We repacked the bag and walked down some sketchily constructed steps towards the water. Allan, again, went in first to test it, and he said these were the hottest pools yet, like proper hot. I changed into my bathing suit again really hoping he was right (we have very different definitions of 'hot water'). We were the only ones there minus an eclectic local guy wading the pools with a metal detector looking for lost jewelry. 

Once I was dressed and belongings safely on a limb, I waded into the actual hot water. Finally! This is exactly what I had been waiting for. The water felt amazing. The only downside, was the ground was rocky and had some logs and sticks, so it wasn't as nice to walk around on. But the water was hot and that was good enough for me. Not long after getting in, we moved further up the stream past the dam into stiller water and further from the road. It was nice to sit in this water on a large rock, and after a while, it actually got too hot and I couldn't stay submerged! It was definitely better than the alternative though, so I wasn't complaining. After about an hour relaxing in the pools, the sun came out and cast a beautiful glow on the water through the trees. It was pretty amazing, and a great way to end our time in the natural thermal pools. 

We left Hot 'n' Cold, got dried off, and drove down the road to the Waiotapu Mud Pools. There's a big 'wonderland' nearby the mud pools with lots of geothermal things to look at, but it's expensive and there's no swimming or anything. Plenty of free stuff if you do your research. We had some lunch before walking over to the large mud pool. The gray mud looked thick and deadly. Whatever goes in that stuff has no chance. The bubbles were varying sizes and speed of boiling in different areas of the mud pool. We could also see old boundary fences where the pool has obviously grown. 

After the Waiotapu Mud Pools we drove over to Waimangu Volcanic Valley. I found a deal for this park on a website and I was looking forward to walking through it. Allan had been here before, so the plan was for me to go and explore on my own while he started to organize the van. However, when I checked in, the woman didn't look, or didn't care, and gave us two spots for the shuttle bus back from the bottom of the walk. That meant Allan could come too, free of charge! 

The Waimangu Volcanic Valley is the youngest geothermal ecosystem in the world. It is also where the largest hot water spring in the world is located: Frying Pan Lake. We took our brochure/map and made our way down the trail, following the markers and reading out the information as we went along. The eruptions here in the late 1800s and early 1900s sparked tourism, but also killed tourists and a hotel business with the subsequent eruptions and many geyser eruptions. There was so much to see here: craters, hot water lakes, so many colors from minerals in the soil and rocks, and as we got past Frying Pan Lake, some really cool stuff came up.

The pool nearby Frying Pan Lake, still goes through a sort of eruption process of emptying and filling every 30 days or so, and we were here when it was full and active. The boiling water overflows and creates a stream down and out of the Waimangu Valley impacting the land the entire way until it meets a nearby cold river. There were little fountains of water, some pretty insane colors from the minerals and plant life growing from the water, and little geysers. It was a really unique walk and was quiet with almost nobody around. 

When we got to the bottom, and the end, of the walk, we waited for the bus to take us back up the hill to the visitor center where we started. Back at the parking lot, we got in the car and drove back to Rotorua to clean out the van. We had to dump any water from using the sink, and anything in the little portable toilet. Once those fun jobs were done, we started putting things back in our backpacks so that we could drop off the van.

We drove about 3 hours back to Auckland where our New Zealand journey began a few weeks ago. We picked up our rental car, switched all the bags over, and then drove to drop off the campervan. While I was glad to see that thing go, it did also mean that our time in New Zealand is almost over, which is sad. It's a really amazing place. With the camper dropped off, we drove into Auckland to check into our hostel and get some dinner. The hostel is in the center right on the main road, which is both good and bad. Good because it is a good location, not so great when needing to park a car. We parked somewhat illegally to get all the bags in and then drove to get some dinner. 

After getting back to the hostel after dinner, parking was much easier to get right out front of the hostel. We went in and got settled, but didn't stay long. Despite being up early, and not having time for a nap, we were back on the road around 10pm to head to Coromandel.Read more