Port Waikato to Taupo

We decided that we had to stop at Rotorua because you are supposed to. It is NZ’s biggest attraction so as we angled down from the tranquil northlands we tried to decided what we would do there.

We got to Rotorua and had a bit of an engine scare (which turned out to be nothing) but at least we found out where the Toyota dealer was. We found that the town had vastly expanded in the last twenty years and we weren’t impressed. After walking around town for awhile we agreed that it was the biggest tourist trap in the country. All of the attractions were, it seemed, for profit. Considering that Rotorua is based around the amount of thermal activity in the area you would think that the various geysers and mud pools would be accessible – think again.

We did walk around Sulphur Bay where the water is milk coloured and the “solid” rock is really only what is left after the water dries (looks solid but don’t go walking on it). The area stinks of rotten eggs and really is not particularly charming. Anyways, two hours were enough and we were on the road again.

Now down the road a couple of hours to Lake Taupo which is the biggest lake in either NZ or Australia. The result of a huge volcanic explosion it is also a hub tourist activity. Most of the tourist guides list things like hang gliding or parachuting which are not specific to the area but seem to spring up where ever there are lots of young tourists.

The last two hostels that we stayed in had been empty but tonight was a different story. We had to go to three before we found a room. It looked like an old motel but at least we had a shared bathroom that connected to the room. It would have been great except that the Germans in the connecting dorm room were a little slow on the concept of unlocking our door when they left the bathroom. Funny, they were really good on the concept of locking the door when they went in it.

Taupo seemed to be a nice town. Since it was quite hot we didn’t walk down to the waterfront until after dark. Walked by a McDonald’s with a full sized DC3 airplane as part of its playground (I’m sure there is a good story there somewhere).

At least this hostel wasn’t for sale like the last two.