Rotorua 2 days trip

The summer which was not very friendly this year decided for a 180 degrees change and gave kiwis an opportunity to enjoy a nice, long, sunny weather time. I could say that it is actually a nice late autumn that delights us with perfect weather, but I really like to think that summer is still here somehow. 🙂

So the past weekend we decided to take advantage of this awesome clear, blue sky and do a short two days trip to Rotorua. The main target of the trip was “Te Waihou Walkway” (Blue Springs). The walkway is pretty far from Auckland and it takes about 3 hours to finish it. But the efforts are well spent and the views are just a real treat for both mind and heart. The waters of the river are so clear that, at least in the morning, have a bright light blue colour. The Blue Spring is internationally acclaimed, as it takes over 100 years for the water coming from the Mamaku Plateau to reach it. During this long residence in aquifers, particles and light-absorbing matter are effectively removed from the water, leaving it with a very high clarity and characteristic blue-green colour.

After a long and a bit tiring day, we spent the night in Rotorua, where we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at a local Mexican restaurant called Sabroso. And because we were in Rotorua, we ended the day with a relaxation time at one of the local thermal pools, “Waikite Valley Thermal Pools“.

The next day was dedicated to walks in The Redwoods, one of the iconic locations in Rotorua. Most of the forest is man planted 🙂 and gets its reddish looks from Californian Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). The area is full of tracks for walking, running, hiking, bicycling or horse riding. The forest is at times quiet or full of sounds: children laughing, dogs barking, birds singing. Also it smelled a lot like pines… couldn’t stop remembering the pine forest I visited as a kid in Romania.

Sunday evening we were back at home… tired but pleased. The nature was surprising and offered us so much diversity. But this is New Zealand in the end. Always amazing… always different.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.