New Zealand lies right on the fault line between the Australasian and Pacific plates. The converging of these plates causes lots of earthquakes and volcanic activity. Rotorua is New Zealand's most dynamic thermal area with spurting geysers, steaming hot springs and exploding mud pools. Its also known as the 'Sulphur City', and as soon as you drive into the place you know exactly why!
We visited Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Park (which is a Maori name meaning Sacred Waters). You're able to walk around and admire these pools, geysers and craters in a safe(ish) environment. The only problem is that it really stinks of rotten eggs. By the end of the two hours I had such a bad headache I was pleased to be leaving!
The Lady Knox Geyser erupts daily on the dot - 10:15. We were absolutely amazed that this geyser was able to do this like clockwork even considering the hour changes for daylight saving! We got there 30 minutes before the ETA and waited in anticipation for the eruption. What if it didn't happen today? What happens if we missed it already? Lots of what ifs... At 10:13 a chap in park uniform walks up to the geyser. He tells us a little history of it, pulls out a bar of soap from a brown paper bag and chucks it into the opening of the geyser. The soap acts as a surfactant allowing the hot and colder waters to mix below ground... so, the hot water heats up the cold water and WHOOSH the geyser erupts at 10:15, throwing lots of soapy suds all over the place. Not quite what we were expecting... but still a great sight!
The ground in and around the park is quite unstable. The sulphurous steam erodes away at the rock and eventually causes the ground to collapse inwards...
My favourite bubbling pool was called The Artist's Pallete. The different minerals that are brought to the surface cause different colours on the surface of the pools. There are yellows, pinks, greens and blues. They can even change depending on the weather.
You are even able to get into some of these pools... In Rotorua there are many different sites to choose from. We chose a well established site in town called the Polynsesian Spa. Its actually voted as one of the top ten spa's in the world. We bought the adult tickets (which meant we were away from the screaming kids...), and took a dip. The water still smells a little egg like but it was so nice to jump in the hot waters (between 38 - 41 degrees), and take the view in of Lake Rotorua. The outside temperature was pretty cold.. and it even rained while we were there. I had to leave though after about 90 minutes because I started to feel like I was going to faint! I dont do baths very well!
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