Day 3 in the Sulphur city...

Woke up and wondered for a moment where I was.. oh yes, Kiwipaka YHA in Rototua.. weather was still cold and the simple task of washing up was harder than it normally is.. I had Maggie noodles for breakfast.. (Somehow maggie mee always taste better when you are away from home) and we had a quick tour around town.

Next on the tour list - Lady Knox Geyser.. we had to get there by 10.15am as we were told that Lady Knox has a bad temper and spout at 10.15 every morning.. hhmmmm wonder why.. turned out that her temper was infuriated by 300 grams of soap powder. Apparently it's the chemical reaction that causes the geyser to "explode" to a height of 1.6m max and that amount of soap powder can lasts for an hour.. exciting huh?

We proceeded to Wai-O-Tapu (Sacred Waters) Thermal Wonderland. Covering some 18sq km, with the volcanic dome of Maungakakaramea (Rainbow Mountain) at its northern boundary, the area is literally covered with collapsed craters, cold and boiling pools of mud, water and steaming fumaroles. The area is associated with volcanic activity dating back about 160,000 years. The Wai-O-Tapu stream gives its name to the area as it forms an integral part of the drainage system which ultimately flows into the Waikato river and out into the Tasman Sea. If you ask me, the first thing (and probably the last thing) that greets you when you walked inside the Wai-O-Tapu is the wonderful smell of sulphur (if you like the smell of rotten egg, that is..) I think I smelled enough sulphur in Rotorua to lasts me a whole year.. the whole experience was interesting but marred by the smell.. enough said.

Huka Fall was our next destination. We opted to see Huka Fall upclose, in a Huka jet! We were dressed like Neo in Matrix (imagine his black robe) and had the safety jacket on as well. The cheeky driver (what do you call a person who drives the jet boat? Can't seem to think now) deliberately drove near to the river bank in sharp turns, missing tree branches and ducks by inches.. and he made several 360 degree turns, making sure all of us got wet, before we arrived near the base of Huka Fall. To see waterfall from the river itself brings a whole new meaning to the word waterfall..

From there, we bid farewell to Rotorua and made our way back to Auckland and our now familiar Auckland City YHA. If you are thinking that we must be tired by then, you are right, I fell asleep soon after.

Days 4-7

Visited more places, bought souvenirs and headed for home. (Sorry, I got kinda tired trying to spell out my entire journey..)

In conclusion, Auckland was fun, but I don't think it has enough to keep me coming back.. Kia Ora, Cit of Sails..!