We left Waitomo area with Norman’s fingers so swollen from gripping the rocks they had actually split open over night. He’s so tough! The drive to Rotorua took much longer than expected. Norman very carefully consulted many websites that give driving distance and times, but they must calculate it going the speed limit which is sometimes going 100 km ( 62 mph ) around hairpin curves! Obviously with the camper we can’t do that ( actually illegal to go over 90 km, which is about 55 mph).
We finally arrived at 3:00 and the thermal park closed at 5:00 Two hours. Plenty of time. Too bad it hurts when I breathe and walk.
This Park was amazing. Although no molten lava, there was plenty of volcanic action! Exploding mud pools, spurting geysers, steam vents, and boiling streams and ponds, as well as mineral pits – mostly sulfur, magnesium citrate and other elements which cast colorful hues. As we hiked closer to the pits, the sulfur smell (rotten eggs) was horrendous. Reminded me of chemistry class.
We walked all around the park taking lots of pictures, but sorry, they don’t do the area justice. Will have to take a photography course to figure out how to get the colors to
“pop”. I would love to know how other people’s came out.
We took our tired bodies back to the campsite. The smell there was also very strong, and since my face had started to swell from the thermal park (due to my previous facial fractures and sinus surgery, I am pretty sensitive to odors) my wonderful husband suggested we drive yet another couple of hours and get the heck out of there. The campervan site willingly gave us a refund stating that many people are allergic to the sulfur. Why did they advertise that this site didn’t smell?
We finally arrived at a beautiful site that sat right on the ocean. It was after hours, so they work on the honor system. We went outside after we cooked dinner and gawked at the sky. Such stars! We thought we could touch the Milky Way. Got up early (not early enough) and caught the end of sunrise just above the horizon. People were already out there swimming and fishing. The showers were cold, but otherwise a great place.
This Park was amazing. Although no molten lava, there was plenty of volcanic action! Exploding mud pools, spurting geysers, steam vents, and boiling streams and ponds, as well as mineral pits – mostly sulfur, magnesium citrate and other elements which cast colorful hues. As we hiked closer to the pits, the sulfur smell (rotten eggs) was horrendous. Reminded me of chemistry class.
We walked all around the park taking lots of pictures, but sorry, they don’t do the area justice. Will have to take a photography course to figure out how to get the colors to
“pop”. I would love to know how other people’s came out.
We took our tired bodies back to the campsite. The smell there was also very strong, and since my face had started to swell from the thermal park (due to my previous facial fractures and sinus surgery, I am pretty sensitive to odors) my wonderful husband suggested we drive yet another couple of hours and get the heck out of there. The campervan site willingly gave us a refund stating that many people are allergic to the sulfur. Why did they advertise that this site didn’t smell?
We finally arrived at a beautiful site that sat right on the ocean. It was after hours, so they work on the honor system. We went outside after we cooked dinner and gawked at the sky. Such stars! We thought we could touch the Milky Way. Got up early (not early enough) and caught the end of sunrise just above the horizon. People were already out there swimming and fishing. The showers were cold, but otherwise a great place.
