NZ/Aus Days 13 & 14: Rotorua

The Maori Museum was damaged in the 2016 earthquake, and is still closed to the public, so we've been left to our own devices (literally) to learn about the history of the area. We wandered the beautiful lakeftont and square around the gorgeous Anglican church and Maori meeting house and admired the carvings and architecture. We opted to avoid the Maori Living Village as it seemed a bit exploitative from the signage and instead planned our day trip to the multicoloured geothermal pools.

When things aren't going well,
a sense of humour can help...

We realized at the last minute that if we wanted to see the geyser go off (one of the park's main attractions), we'd better get a move on since 10:15 is the only chance you get. We raced along the narrow road leading from the highway to the visitor centre where we were greeted by a well-oiled "get-to-the-geyser-on-time" machine. Employees directed us to a waiting zone where we could park and buy tickets, then were ushured to the turn-off for it where more parking guides waited to reassure us that we had time. It turned out that 10:15 was the start of the geyser pre-show where we learned of its history before the geyser was manually set off using a soap-like mixture.

Our ever-contented baby stayed true to her nature and got upset by the one thing she seems to hate: people. And even worse than that, people speaking into mircophones. Amidst her cries, the geyser went off, then we let the crowd clear so we'd have less company to make our way through the rest of the attractions.

Hmm... those fumes can't be good for the baby. #terribleparenting

A well-marked path led us on a multi-coloured journey through "one of the 20 most sureal places on earth" to see Mother Nature's well-developed palette. The highlights were arguably the Champagne Pool and Devil's Bath, which looked more like something off a late 90's Nickelodeon game show.

All-in-all, our long drive to Rotorua seemed well worth it and we continued on the next day smellier, but more relaxed than when we arrived, thanks to three dips in the motel's hot springs.

A matching family is a happy family ;)