Tuesday, March 25
Taupo to Rotorua. Ahhh, a great day. We climbed quickly away from Lake Taupo and then spent the next 30km gently descending. The
formative geologic forces of the region are still clearly etched in the
landcape here. Falling away from Lake Taupo we could easily sense the
remains of the giant volcano beneath us (Lake Taupo filling the extinct
crater). The ground began to gently swell again as we drew close
to Lake Rotorua -- the crater of yet another dormant volcano. Approaching Rotorua, we began seeing plumes of steam rising mysteriously
out of the landscape and began catching fleeting whiffs of sulfur in the
air -- signs of the intensifying geothermal activity.
On arrival in Rotorua, our minds were focused on one thing -- a good thermal soaking. But, we never did make it to the water. We became distracted by red
bean burritos at the Fat Dog (a styling cafe, heavy on clutter and comfy
couches). We were munching away and ran into Christo from Flying Kiwi (a very cool touring outfit here in NZ). We bumped into Christo and his bus once before on the South Island.) So, we chatted with him a bit, learned about his world travels, and got a tour of the Flying Kiwi bus. This would be a great way to tour NZ -- cool hand-painted transport, leisurely pace, out-of-the-way places, and plenty of toys (bikes, canoes, windsurfers). Looking forward to a good thermal dip tomorrow (maybe two or three)...
Meanwhile back at the site here in San Diego, I received an email this morning from the Flying Kiwi team: "Renee, I just talked to Christo on the phone. He's sitting in the Fat Dog Cafe in Rotorua. He said he saw two cyclists in there, he's gonna ask them if they are Mike & John..."
This afternoon, I got an email with today's journal and photos from Mike and he wrote: "Well we met up with the Flying Kiwi bus again. We were at this cool place in Rotorua (the Fat Dog) and in walked the bus driver/tour guide and said hello!..."
It's fun knowing of such coincidental events from so many thousands of miles away. So I emailed back to the Flying Kiwis, and they replied, "Wow! This is excellent...it's really amazing what happens sometimes. Thanks again! The Flying Kiwis
Rotorua. Rest day. We sent some email and stocked up on food. We also saw the city gardens and returned to the Fat Dog to relax and write a
few cards. The highlight (and primary mission) of the day was our
visit to the geothermal spa. For $8NZ gained us access to paradise.
We had our pick of eight pools -- all different temperatures (rare to
well-done) and mineral contents (rich and creamy to extra chunky) --
overlooking Lake Rotorua. We quickly found our preference and ran towards
the hotter-the-better. We soaked as long as we could possibly stand it,
eventually taking the frequent blackouts as a sign that it was time to
get out.
Now we have made it to the part I (Mike) was looking forward to. Rotorua not only has all the thermal activity to keep you busy for days (including thermal spas to soak away all those cycling aches and pains). It is also rich with Maori culture. For those interested, you will find all sorts of museums,
shows, and galleries displaying the wonderful artwork of New Zealand's
native past.
