Sulphur City....Rotorua

Two days ago I decided I had better come up with a plan for my short time left in NZ. I chose 3 cities that I would travel to and reserved seats on the Intercity bus. Finding reasonably priced accommodation was quite a challenge as it is still considered peak season, although the children are back in school so fewer families are travelling.

My first destination was Rotorua, 360 km south of Auckland or 4.5 hours by bus. The fare was only $42. The bus was scheduled to depart Auckland at 8 am so another early rise as the depot was 4 blocks away. Three of those long blocks were up a steep hill again! The bus was clean, comfortable and the passengers were multigenerational, both local and tourists. The route took us to the town of Matamata, where several got off to visit Hobbiton. There were 2 or 3 other small town stops. The highway was a very narrow, two-lane winding road and I was thankful I wasn’t driving a rental car. The bus driver pointed out the spot where a tourist bus didn’t make one of the sharp curves and tumbled into the deep ditch, killing 6 Japanese passengers. I would have preferred that he not share that bit of news!

My hotel, the Jet Park, was a 20 minute walk (on flat ground for a change) from the downtown area. More centrally located hotels were over-budget. Once settled, I set out to explore this smelly city. They say you get used to the odour after a few hours, which I found unimaginable at this point, but it did prove to be true to a degree. Rotorua is part of a geothermal field resulting in spouting geysers, bubbling mud pots and volcanic crater lakes. The hydrogen sulphide emissions is what causes the rotten egg smell. In the centre of the city is Kuirau Park with its fascinating display of geothermal activity, while children play in the adjacent playground and sports fields.

Rotorua has become a major tourist attraction compared to when I was here 39 years ago. There are now so many non-geothermal activities, such as canopy tours, go-carting, mini-golf, etc. After a tiring day I decided to try a plant-based Rebel Whopper at Burger King next to the hotel, something I rarely do but I didn’t want to walk back into town. It tasted okay but a few hours later I was trotting back and forth to the toilet. Not a fun night :(Read more