A nice lazy day in Rotorua today.
For breakfast, we decided on crêpes at Le Café de Paris. Something a bit different and they were very nice too.
We then headed to the Government Gardens. What strikes you as you drive into the parklands is the Old Bath House Building. The building was originally constructed in 1906-1908 and opened in 1908 as a thermal spa, offering medical and therapeutic treatments. It was the New Zealand Government’s first major investment in the tourist industry. In more recent times it was converted to a museum but has been closed since 2016 after being found to be earthquake-prone. Restoration is expected to cost $80+ million and will be complete in 2027. It's certainly a building that should be preserved.
The next stop was Sulphur Point in the Sulphur Bay Wildlife Refuge, just beyond the Bath House, to check out some thermal activity on Lake Rotorua's edge. The 145-hectare wildlife refuge and sanctuary really lives up to its name. Magnificent steam vents, boiling mud pools, naturally hot water and the Puarenga Stream - home to an array of bird species, including the nationally threatened New Zealand dabchick, banded dotterel, and black-billed gull. The water in the bay appears murky due to sulphur suspensions, is low in oxygen and is quite acidic (pH 3.5).
We then headed to Kuirau Park where walking tracks lead to numerous areas of vigorous geothermal activity. Amazing to see all this in the middle of the city. New eruptions do occur from time to time and in 2001 mud and rocks the size of footballs were suddenly hurled 10 metres into the air as a new steam vent spontaneously announced its arrival. In early Maori times, the small lake in the park was much cooler and was known as Taokahu. Legend tells us that a beautiful young woman named Kuiarau was bathing in the waters when a taniwha (legendary creature) dragged her to his lair below the lake. The gods above were angered and made the lake boil so the Taniwha would be destroyed forever. From that time on, the bubbling lake and the steaming land around it have been known by the name of the lost woman, although the spelling has changed a little.
A bit of shopping to stock up on food supplies and then back to Club Wyndham via the Te Puia Te Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley. We had read that you can sometimes see the Papakura Geyser erupting from the roadside. We hung around for a while but no activity today. Our geyser-watching will have to wait for the Lady Knox on Tuesday.
