Rotorua...finally

When asked what I did in Rotorua, I cannot help but use the words of my darling friend Tyler: What didn’t I do in Rotorua? Here’s the thing about this place. It is a tourist trap! Every single thing is targeted to people with moolah to spend. So, two days and $200 later, I saw the museum, two parks with boiling mud, geysers and steaming lakes, a Kiwi, and I bathed I nmineral pools at the Polynesian Spa. It was loads of fun! I have put up four pictures- one is a lake called Devil’s Bath because of its bright green color (due to high levels of sulphur and minerals), one is the bluest lake I have ever seen, there is a photo of a steaming lake called Champagne Lake and one of boiling mud (although it just looks like a picture of steam).

So, here’s a bit of Maori legend for you…

Over 100 years ago, white people came to Rotorua as tourists. The Maori people quickly learned the value of the dollar and began tours, entrance fees, etc.

One day, while giving a canoe tour across the lake, a Maori woman was startled to see a war canoe pass by. Everyone in the touring canoe saw it but the Maori woman did not recognize any of the warriors. The woman screamed out, having seen one of the heads of the warriors turn into a snarling dog. Then, with no warning, the canoe slowly vanished into the fog.

Alarmed by what she saw, she went to the leader of her tribe and asked what the vision had meant. He informed her that he gods were displeased with the way the Maori’s were living and the amount of white people coming to Rotorua. He knew punishment was on the way.

A short time later, a loud rumble woke the entire town. Hot lava began to spew from the hilltops and in a matter of hours, over 100 people were dead and the town was destroyed.

It didn’t take long for the local Maori’s and investors to rebuild this volcanic town. But, even in modern times, tourists and locals alike are reminded of the unstable ground where they walk by the steaming lakes and hot pools scattered throughout the city.

There ya have it. Rotorua is a weird place! Beautiful, but slightly eerie.