Travel Story «Rotorua, Smelly as Bro!»

New Zealand | 0 Comments 02 December 2006 - Last Update 29 January 2007

After our rather wet stop we motored on to Rotorua. Now Rotorua is basically on a volcanic belt in New Zealand which is great yeah seeing as the park next to us had its last eruption only back in 2002! Wonderful. Now we arrived very hungry and headed for Mad Dog café a must if you are in Rotorua we even went back again the next day! Oh Rotorua is a very smelly place now you can say I am being harsh but unless you like the smell of eggs it is seriously smelly. It is due to the sulphur from the volcanos not sure why we can smell it as writing this is worries me a little but anyway its smells. 
So while here we decided to do and adrenalin day. So after a nights sleep which was longer for some than others who left the pub early and climbed into out very high bunk beds which would make anyone a little scared of heights. We got up the next morning to go white water rafting. We got picked up by Chonk seriously was his name and headed out to an even smellier part of town. We got wet suited up which was a lot less struggle that Waitomo as the suits were dry this time and headed off in the bus. Once at the river we were given a quick intorduction to what we had to do to keep us afloat. We were put into groups of course we got to stay together adn were called the girl boat. But we were extra special as our guide for the day Chad was being assessed to get up a higher grade so no pressure on us to preform ya right. Also i forgot to mention that the particular strech of river we were going on has the highest water fall that people can commerically go down! Yes my friends we were not going to take an easy introduction to white water rafting we decided that since we were doing it to go the whole way and raft off a seven metre water fall! Well keeping this at the front of our minds we headed off down river. THere was us four girls Chad, the guy asscessing him and they threw in chonk for good measure. All going cruisy after first set of rapids getting into the flow of it. Then we came to the first water fall we were a little tense but not so much as chad our guide who actually fell out of the raft ater the fall. How embrassing on the day you are getting evaluated you fall  out of the boat. Now a later confession my Miss Growley as put a different twist on the event as she belevies she hit him with her oar and knocked him out!!!!! Anyway we had to paddle around and pick him up was all catch on camera so check out photo of him wiht his legs in the air and resurfacing it was so bloody funny. So like pros we moved along laughing away to ourselves and went through a few morerapids which were pretty cool and we were told a bit about the surrounding areas. Eventually we arrived before the big one not as nervous as we imagined as we knew we would not make as big a folls as our guide had done! So we did it and it was amazing the facial expersions after were hilarious we literlaly fell straight over and went under the water to jump back up again it was so much fun. None of the other boats on the trip overturned on the day so it was all good. Apart for our bloody guide who this time lost his oar i tell ya talk about letting the side down.
After the rush of the big one they decieded to dunk Gra and emilyt under the water fall bascialy steering the front of the boat under the waterfall was very funny. And that then was the end of the rafting as we headed back to base to see the photos which were hilarious can see them on bebo.
After we were dropped off at the hostel we deceided to eat at the mad dog again and then have a power nap to reenergise. After we awoke bright eyed and bushy taled!!!!!! We headed for the Zorbing centre now i think this was made for me basically you roll down a hill in a big plastic ball! So we had two options you get strapped in to the ball of you go in and have water in there with you. We had to go for the water one as other was sold out. So we changed and partnered up it was the Lewis-Stuart Trainors and the Carroll-Crowleys. The latter were first to go the funniest part was getting into the zorb where by you have to run at the ball and then jump into a supergirl pose to get through the hole was very funny watching others but then i knew i was probably looking like that as well. As the girls went the screams were really funny and made me a little scared. Emily and i got in after our supergirl impressions. You have to stand at frist and push the ball and then it goes of its own accord and you can't do anything about it unfortunatly emily and i got tangled in an unusal postion and i have to say i felt a little violated after it but it was so much fun laughing and screaming all the way. Getting out of the zorb as a little like the birthing experince expect coming out legs first was really funny. Emily and i Decided that we had to do it again which was just as good as the first time!
So after our rather packed day we decded being the true backpackers that we are to head for a spa, so we went to the polypesian spa complex in Rotorua. Now the pools are thermal spas which means they are heated by the volcanic activity in the area. There are about four pools of varying temperatures. Now we did not realise this till we had hoped into the second hottest pool we never do things by halves. Emily found this a little too hot for her adn hopped in and out a bit before vacanting with gre to a cooler pool after being stared at by japanese tourists we headed for the coolest and largest pool and stayed there for bout an hour was fab. After this we headed for some food at which point we realised that we stunk of bloody sulphur from the spa pools that smell seriously still haunts me it was on our hair bikinis and towels swear i can still smell it now how many weeks later! So we got back to hosel and headed out for a few drinks on a weekend in Rotorua now New Zealand is being to show a trend that being not many people go out at the weekends here! Really where are all the Kiwi people gone? Well i speak for all of us when i say that our last day in Roturua has been a major highlight of the trip was such a good action packed day. So after Roturua we decided to head for Taupo but will had over the key board now to one of the other ladies for that installment.
Lorna