Here and There Blog

One last shot of Sulphur Bay before moving onto the Government Gardens.  Can't miss the weapon photo op!  Or the wind sculpture.  Bronze Casts.  And along the hotel grounds. Rotorua turned out to be a good place to visit and had much more to do than I had spare time!

the Sulphur Bay Wildlife Refuge is located along the south part of Lake Rotorua. Mainly birds are found there as the water does not have enough oxygen to support life, so no fish. The birds have to find food from neighboring areas. There were 100's of birds here.  The walking trail takes you over the active pools and springs in the marsh. Listen for the sound of bubbles and a pool of some sort is nearby.  These looks pretty desolate but it is part of the same bay.  Less birds on this side. They seem to prefer the sandy area where it is more open. This used to be used as a natural hot spring bath before the area became too unstable. Caution signs warn you not to step into the area due to unstable ground.

There she blows! I was on the wrong side of the wind so the steam covered up the geyser.  Entrance to the ancestral meeting house.  Close up of carvings on the door.  Near the cemetery.  Looking out to the forest.

A short drive out of Rotorua takes you into the forest and lake country. Blue Lake is open to boating and swimming. On a clear sunny day, it must really shine. Cloudy sky today made Blue Lake slightly grey.  On the shore of Blue Lake    Taken from the Lookout Point on the opposite side of Blue Lake  

This living village is built on hot springs and geothermal pools. Two of New Zealand's active geysers are nearby. Admission access includes a guided tour, free wandering of the thermal trails, and a cultural show. The path goes along the village road and at times you have to wonder how the people living here deal with the daily tourist flow.  Active pools bubble about and create building problems when new pools break through the ground. The cemetery is no longer in use. All burials have to be above ground since the geothermal activity is close to the surface and makes digging not feasible.  Small blue pool near the edge of the village.

This Auckland trip has been work, work, and work. I never expected so much hotel-work-hotel time. Today I realized that I am not living up to expectations and had to go to the hotel lobby to find a local NZ dark beer. Luckily for me, there it was in the hotel bar waiting for me to sample. If you are a fan of dark beer give this one a try. Not too chocolate, definitely not a porter, and best of all, not too heavy to handle on little sleep!