Rotorua

The smell of Rotorua is quite breathtaking, it catches you in the back of the throat; sluphurous and thick. This is a place full of thermal springs and geysers. People come here to bathe in the waters which are supposed to contain beneficial properties.

After WW1 soldiers were sent here to recuperate and to take mud baths and treatments that included sitting in a bath with an electric current going through it! I'm not sure how conducive to recovery that would be.

The bath house itself is incredible to look at with it's elegeant lawns, beatiful woodwork, and fantastic roof. There's a viewing platform on the roof with amazing views. More interesting in fact than the exhibits about the baths. The place suffered a huge earthquaque in 18something or other. and this has completely reshaped the place. There is a geological fault that runs right down through here.

Later we went to see the famous geezer called Pohutu. How human that it has had a big fence built round it and you have to pay to see it. But I suppose it's good to pay into the local economy. There's a lovely forested pathway to the geezer which sits at the centre of a large rocky area which is whitened by the mineral residue that lands on it. As we approached two men were walking away looking alittle underwhelemed.

"A bit like an old man's ejaculation" said one to the other.

Nevertheless we were still keen to see what happened. There was quite a crowd of people there standing waiting with cameras poised and expectation in thier faces.

Nothing really happened for quite a long time and people were drifting away. It starts like a kettle slowly coming to the boil with a similar noise but much deeper and louder. It builds up and builds up untill the hieght of the geyser is about 15 feet. The place is thick with spray and steam and the sulphurous smell.

I though it was quite a good display myself.

Notes:

It turns out that in this part of the woirld you say GUYser not GEEzer.

How do geysers work? http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~glennon/geysers/

Lter that day we went back to the Ambassador Thermal Hotel and had a swim as well as a good long bubble in the spa. Very relaxing. So despite the nasty niff

Rotorua turned out OK