Rotorua: Road Trip Redemption (Part 2)

After Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula, our road trip took us to the center of New Zealand’s geothermal activity with a couple quick stops first to check out glowworm caves and to visit Middle Earth.

The highlight of the Waitamo Caves in New Zealand is the glowworms, especially given that these impressive insect larvae only live in a couple other select places in the world.  Thousands of these tiny creatures light up the pitch-black cave with their bioluminescent bodies.  We boarded a boat to glide silently on the underground river through the famous Glowworm Grotto.  We marveled at the galaxy of lights produced by these little creatures.  Unfortunately, photography is not allowed in this famous cave, but we were able to capture a few images at a lesser-known cave nearby that has a small number of glowworms.  Our guide shined her flashlight to reveal the thread-like, sticky webs that they create to capture other small insects.

We also saw some cool stalactite, stalagmite, and flag/curtain/cave bacon (depending on your country) formations, although we both think that the cave we went to in Spain was more impressive albeit without the awe-inspiring glowworms.

Up next, our journey through Middle Earth begins!  We made it to Bag End, the most famous Hobbit-hole in Hobbiton.

We weren’t sure what to expect and almost skipped the Hobbiton movie set tour, but we were absolutely blown away by the attention to the tiniest detail and the beauty of the landscape.

We also got to see Samwise Gamgee’s house along with plenty of other Hobbit homes impeccably decorated on the outside complete with little curtains in the windows, laundry hanging up to dry, and items to demonstrate who lives in the house such as loaves of bread and rolls at the baker’s home or liquor bottles at the town drunk’s home.

We thoroughly enjoyed hearing the production stories from our tour guide.  Did you know that the famous tree above Bag End was a giant oak moved from another location to be re-created on the set and has completely fake leaves painstakingly painted one at a time to look as real as possible?

At the end of the tour, we passed the Hobbiton Mill and crossed over the double arch stone bridge to the Green Dragon Inn.

Here, we relaxed by the fire in comfortable armchairs with a Hobbit Southfarthing cider/beer and a beef and ale pie.

We absolutely loved our time in Hobbiton and were excited to continue our journey through Middle Earth.  But, first, we had a geothermal wonderland to explore.

From the shimmering blue waters and white sand beaches of the Coromandel Peninsula to the rolling hills and lush pastures of Hobbiton, the New Zealand landscape drastically changed once again as we entered Rotorua in the heart of the Taupo Volcanic Zone.  Unabashed science nerds, we couldn’t help but stay multiple days here to make sure we got to explore all the different sites and see bubbling mud pits, sulfur caves, bursting geysers, and silica terraces.

Our first stop was Te Puia with its star attraction being the Pōhutu geyser that erupts almost every hour.

Pōhutu is the biggest geyser in the southern hemisphere shooting water and steam as high as 30 meters.  The jumping mud pools were also pretty cool here.

On our tour, the local guide shared stories passed down from his ancestors and taught us about the customs and lifestyle of the Māori, the original inhabitants of New Zealand and the first settlers of Rotorua.  We saw their traditional meeting house with a typical Māori welcome ceremony, natural steam pits and boiling pools of water for cooking food, and the handicrafts of the students at the on-site New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute.

Our next stop was the hidden valley at Orakei Korako, a geothermal park that can only be accessed by a ferry across Lake Ohakuri.

Here at the Emerald Terrace, 20 million liters of hot water have been trickling over the land for thousands of years to create this impressive multi-tiered silica terrace.

Our final stop was at the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland.  The morning started with the daily explosion of the Lady Knox geyser.

After visiting other thermal sites previous days, we thought it might be just more of the same, but we definitely saved the best for last.  Mother Nature absolutely wowed us with unbelievable colors.  The Champagne Pool is the largest spring in the district and bubbles due to carbon dioxide.  The orange color around the edge is caused by deposits of arsenic and antimony sulfides.

Water overflowing from the Champagne Pool flows across a sinter-encrusted flat with a range of colors due to microorganisms and precipitated minerals that originated below the surface.  Appropriately named the Artist’s Palette, a variety of colors can be seen including yellow from sulfur, black from sulfur and carbon, white from silica, and green from ferrous salts.

Although no fish are found in the water system here due to the high temperature and acidic conditions, birds don’t seem to mind.  The Pied Stilt loves to hang out on the Artist’s Palette and the Frying Pan Flat feeding on insects.  Interesting side note, their call sounds like the yapping of a small dog.

On our way out of the park, we thought we had seen it all until we came across a pool that looked like it had come out of a DC Comics evil villain’s lair.

Known as Devil’s Bath, not Joker’s Bath, the rugged-edged crater fills with excess water from the Champagne pool that mixes with sulfur and ferrous salts to create the completely natural, but rather unnatural-looking, color.  All three of the thermal parks that we went to had unique features, so we were glad that we made time for all of them.

While in Rotorua, we celebrated an extremely momentous occasion – Jimmy’s 40^th birthday.  We wished we could have spent this day with friends and family, but I did my best to surprise Jimmy with some special birthday treats and activities.  Fortuitously, we discovered Rotorua to be quite the foodie town.  Just like we would have done in DC, we started the day off right with a boozy brunch.

We were pleasantly surprised to find the brunch menu offerings to be just as creative as our favorite spots back “home” (not that we know where home really is anymore).  We started off right with delicious lamb and feta bao buns.

Our mains were a pork belly benedict and a modern remake of the traditional New Zealand dish, mince and toast.

Of course, we must always waddle away from a proper brunch, so we finished off the birthday feast with a healthy dose of “dessert” brioche waffles.

In lieu of the requisite post-brunch nap, I surprised Jimmy with a relaxing afternoon at the famous Polynesian Spa, a natural mineral pool luxury retreat.  Local Māori have been using this acidic spring for centuries claiming therapeutic benefits.  A Catholic priest was healed of his arthritis after a few months of use in the 1800s and thus started the international reputation that led to spa houses being built on this spot and visitors coming from all over the world.  The water that fills the multiple hot spa pools comes from either this acidic spring, now called the Priest Spring, or the Rachel Spring.  The alkaline waters of Rachel Spring are known for nourishing the skin and blessing those who enter with ageless beauty.  Perfect timing for a 40^th birthday, right?

The location is serene and beautiful overlooking the Sulfur Bay Wildlife Refuge of Lake Rotorua. In addition to the two pools filled with the therapeutic spring water, three other pools of varying temperature could be enjoyed along with a cold plunge pool. We were incredibly lucky to be there during a slow time with only a handful of other people, so we were able to try out each of the different pools and essentially have it to ourselves.  After an hour or two of soaking, we were rewarded for our hard efforts with a Swedish massage complete with herbal tea in their relaxation room in fluffy white robes and a fruit smoothie to-go.

To wrap up the 40^th birthday celebrations, the grand finale was a special dinner at Mokoia Restaurant, a lakeside, fine dining establishment offering contemporary Pacific Rim cuisine.  We chose their 3-course shared dining experience in which our two choices were elegantly plated together but nicely divided to avoid any fighting.  Not that the Lovgrens EVER fight over food. 

First up, we shared a smoked duck breast with a mango salsa and wasabi mustard aioli and chili- and lime-infused prawns and scallops with kaffir lime-infused soba noodles.

The main course was an Angus beef fillet and mushroom puree with port wine jus and a melt-in-your-mouth, I-can’t-remember-all-the-other-fancy-ingredients lamb shank.  In a country that has six sheep per person, you just can’t pass up on the lamb special of the night.

The birthday dessert included a pavlova with lemon curd marscapone and fresh fruit as well as a chamomile-infused panna cotta.

We wished there could have been more people to celebrate with us, but we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day for just the two of us.  Not too shabby to spend your 40^th birthday in New Zealand.

Aside from the amazing, different landscapes around every corner in this country, New Zealand is also known for its adrenaline-pumping activities, being the country that invented the jetboat and the first country to commercialize bungee jumping.  We didn’t do either of those this trip, but we did take a gondola ride to the top of Mount Ngongotaha for some luging. 

While you may be thinking that luging is a tame activity for kids, we found that is most certainly not the case.  After cruising down the scenic track and intermediate track, we gained confidence in the flimsy, plastic contraptions and our curve-handling skills.  We were both barreling down the advanced track and neither of us realized before it was too late that the drops on this track were steep enough to get some serious airtime.  With a sore throat from my “I’m-going-to-die” scream and the brown stain in my pants, we fulfilled the adrenaline-rush requirement of a visit to New Zealand.

Luckily, Rotovegas also has a tasting room at the top of the gondola for a boutique winery called Volcanic Hills.  Relaxing with a glass of pinot gris up in the clouds with panaromic views over Lake Rotorua was the perfect compliment to the crazy luge ride.

With our time in Rotorua over, our long and treacherous journey through Middle Earth continued.  We trekked down a dark and dusty track to get to the Forbidden Pool, also known as Gollum’s Pool.  In the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, this location is the dark scene where Faramir asks Frodo about Gollum while his archers threaten to kill him.  In real life, the waterfall and emerald pool sparkle in the sunlight amidst the lush, green forest.

Near the Forbidden Pool, we crossed into Mordor and the final location of our Middle Earth quest was before us…Mt Doom!!