Day 3 - Raglan to Rotorua
We started off at Hot Water Beach but the tide was in! Total bummer! You are supposed to be able to dig yourself a little hole in the sand at a certain point along the beach and soak in your own hot tub. We did manage to walk towards the place and get our feet a bit warm and then I got soaked as a huge wave came and crashed against the rocks! Dang.
Next was our caving adventure in Waitomo called Haggas Honking Holes. We were fully suited up with wetsuits and headlamps and off we went into a massive cave underneath a farmer's field! We learned to abseil (rappelling down rocks on a rope) and did 3 of these as well as all sorts of rock climbing and crawling and sqeezing through various tight spots in the amazing cave!! I was pretty much terrified for the entire first half! It had rained the night before so picture a full on waterfall, in the dark, in a cave.....ahhhhhhhh. Once you got used to it the scenery is absolutely amazing and at certain points we turned off our lamps and were surrounded by glowworms!! Finishing was a total rush and we felt awesome getting out! Our guide was great and we learned more Kiwi slang like Primo! Everything is Primo! Duane B., he was the Kiwi version of you....his name and everything.
As we rolled into Rotorua we were hit instantly with the smell of rotten eggs! It is a town on top of a geothermal lake and it is warm and smelly and steam is rising from the ground! Literally! Our hostel had a geothermal pool! A completely natural hot tub!
The next morning we did a tour through Whakarewarewa, an ancient Maori geothermal village. It was the coolest place ever!!! It is warm all over, they heat there houses, cook their food, bathe, do basically everything with the hot water runnnig through their village! Some of the pools reach 190 degrees at the surface in summertime! Crocs will melt on the pavement in summer! We ate a traditional Hangi meal cooked right there in hot water pools (sausage and sweet corn!) and watched a cultural show which included traditional dance and song and of course the Haka!!!!!! Go All Blacks! We totally loved it here and it was so interesting to learn of the the Maori culture and realize they have been living in that village for hundreds of years! And I was warm and cozy the whole time! (New Zealand is cold!!! I have to wear long johns everyday!)
We also stopped at a Hot Water River to soak and found a bubbling mud lake. Totally science fiction. Andrew loved it.

Next post will be Taupo to Tongariro National Park and beyond. Wait till you hear what happened there!

Sweet as!

SarahandRoo