The Swanson's New Zealand Trip

Rotorua: 28-29 May

Rotorua is only 80 kilometers north of Taupo, a very short drive. We had no real reason to hurry, so we didn't. After all, we're on vacation!

But we did eventually get our "act together" and loaded our luggage into the car and headed out. Our first stop was at the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland located about midway between Taupo and Rotorua. It is most famous for the Lady Knox Geyser, which we just missed seeing spout (so much for life in the slow lane...) The geyser was pretty much pau when we got there, but we did manage to get a few low level (pun intended) images of last gasps for the day.

From there back to the reception building where we commenced the walking part of the tour. By this time Sandi was getting pretty blasé about bubbling mud pools and air that smelled like rotten eggs. So, when the "blurp, blump" of the bubbling pools was drowned out by the screams of the bellowing urchins, we decided to call it quits and retire to the solitude of our car.

Continuing north we entered Rotorua from the south along "motel row". No "No Vacancy" signs bode well, and we stopped first at the Rose Court Motel, a highly rated motel in the AA accomodations book. They had three rooms available: two were suites with outdoor private spas and the other a studio with an indoor spa. All were the same NZ$65, so we opted for the suite with the queen bed.

Once "settled in" we drove downtown to see what we could see. Well, what we saw were cars, cars, and more cars. This was off season, but the downtown was so mobbed that we never did find a parking space. We have a saying that goes something akin to "if the town doesn't want us we won't go." Well, it was quite evident that Rotorua didn't want us. So, we went—out of town until we found a cafe, got lunch to go, & returned to our motel.

After lunch we gave the spa a workout. After all, we felt obligated to ensure that it operated as advertised. Then "feet up" until dinner. Bob checked the local listings, and the guidebook, finding a great restaurant, Poppy's Villa, within a few blocks walk from of Rose Court. After a brisk walk in the rapidly-cooling evening, we found it, tried it out, and it was very, very good.

Back to the motel for more R&R. We contemplated another spa encounter, but we were already so relaxed that we'd possibly fall asleep in the spa and drown. So, off to bed to rest up for our trip to the Northland and Bay of Islands.

The "thumbnails" following this narrative are a select subset of our Rotorua images. They may be "enlarged" by clicking on them with your mouse pointer. Enjoy!

Lady Knox Geyser	Lady Knox helps Sandi blow her lid	Mud pool @ Wai-O-Tapu	Wai-O-Tapu	Our bedroom at the Rose Court Motel [Where do they learn to fold towels like that?]
		A perfectly restored Morris Minor

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