Rotorua Geo-Thermal Adventures

Rotorua is the centre of all activities, entertainment, and geothermal experience in New Zealand North Island. We started the day with a hot, steamy visit to the Lady Knox Geyser and Wai-o-Tapu Thermal wonderland. We then took the Skyline cable car and luge in the afternoon, and ended the day with a Maori cultural show.

Lady Knox Geyser

The Lady Knox Geyser in Rotorua erupts daily at 10.15 am. Luckily we were early. There were so many people trying to find a parking lot and be on time to catch the geyser in action.

First, the geyser started to build up steam with some foam flowing out.

Then slowly and steadily, the water spurted out, and soared higher and higher until it reached its full height.

Are you wondering how the geyser can be timed so perfectly to erupt at 10:15 am? I won’t spoil the fun. You have to be there to get the answer.

Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland

Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland is a wonderland of stunning geothermal activity that took thousands of years to make. It was a short distance away from the Lady Knox Geyser. We walked at our own pace exploring this colourful natural volcanic area.

The Champagne Pool (below) was one of the most unique geothermal landscape we’ve ever seen. Look at the amount of steam coming out of the pool.

That’s us in the middle being surrounded by steam. It looked as if we were suffering in the steam, but believe it or not, it was not steaming hot.

The thermal park also had steaming volcanic craters.

The naturally coloured pools were quite interesting. Doesn’t the pool below look like honeydew milkshake?

Liquids on the ground were bubbling almost everywhere around the park. There were bubbling Mud pools and steaming yellowish liquid.

My son was curious to know the temperature of the water, so he dipped his finger into the water. Can you guess whether it was hot or cold?

There was a lake that was so still that it provided a mirror effect of the surrounding rocks.

Although my favourite subject in school was Maths, I couldn’t say I remembered much about algebra or calculus. However, I could still remember vividly what my Geography teacher taught me about volcanoes and plate tectonics. I was glad that I could explain to my kids a thing or two about volcanoes.

The photo below at the top-right shows sulphur on the surface of the rock. Below it is the sulphur mounds.

At places like this, I was thankful that I had the baby backpack carrier. A stroller would just be too difficult to manage on the bumpy paths and staircases like the one in the picture below.

Within the thermal area, there was a small forest of tall trees.

Skyline Cable Car and the Luge

After the steaming hot adventure, our next adventure was riding down a hill in a Luge. To get to the luge, we had to take a cable car up the hill first. The view was awesome with greeneries in the foreground and dark blue waters in the background.

After reaching the top, we rode downhill in the luge, with no engine, just gravity. The kids loved it so much that we rode downhill a second time. There were three tracks with differing skill levels. We took the gentle paced Scenic track. The other two, the Intermediate and Advanced tracks, were too fast for my kids.

Going uphill in a chair lift was a little terrifying because it was quite high. I held on to my girl in a sarong baby carrier.

Maori Cultural Show

In the evening, we soaked in the rich history and culture of the Maoris at the Mitai Maori Cultural Show.

At the beginning of the show, the Maoris brought us to see the food on huge trays being slowly cooked the Maori way. There were two huge trays with meat stuff, and another huge tray with non-meat stuff like sweet potatoes.