Hot ground

We cheated the weather forecasts in Coromandel, and so we hoped that in the end we might be lucky and travel with clear skies. Boy were we wrong! On the following days we got more rain and dark clouds than in the entire past year altogether.

The central part of the North Island is famous for its geothermal activity and Rotorua is right in the midst of all the geysers, bubbling mud and hot springs. You know you've arrived because you can smell it. The whole town smells of rotten eggs! Trained by years spent in Zaragoza with its stinky paper factory, we were not to be detained in discovering Rotorua's secrets. Or so we thought. There is a large thermal park in the outskirts of the town and we headed there right away. It turns out I misread our guidebook and the entry is not free like I thought - it's 50 NZD! Having seen Yellowstone National Park and thermal fields in Iceland and Chile already, we decided not to go. We went to a park next to our hostel instead, that is full of steaming pools and bubbly mud. D even warmed up his feet! 

Mud

And steam

And happy feet

In Rotorua we finally got to see the Maori, in the South Island we hadn't come across any. The truth is it wasn't a completely happy sight. We had no idea there were so many homeless Maori, but the saddest moment came when we stumbled upon Cash Converter and went inside to see if we could sell our tent here. In general this kind of establishments is a sad place to be, but seeing the big Maori women with their little kids asking for loans and pawning everything, well that really made us feel like we were in "Once were warriors".

As soon as we got back to the hostel, it started raining and it just wouldn't stop. We spent two days inside, bored, waiting for sun, but in vain. We decided to move on to Taupo, still naively hoping we'd escape the rain.

Taupo is situated by a lake of the same name, largest in New Zealand and popular with weekenders and holidaymakers from around the country. We don't really see what the fuss is about as it didn't seem too special to us, but then again, we didn't see the place at its best. Of course it rained almost the entire time! We checked out the Hot Stream, a small creek where you can soak up in warm water and for free! And since it is for free, everybody goes, so good luck finding a spot just for yourselves!

Hot bath

As there was no place for us, we decided to give ourselves a treat instead - spend some time in special hot pools in Wairakei Terraces spa! Finally something to cheer us up! Well, guess what... The spa was closed because of a technical failure! So there was just one thing left that could make us feel better - food. After a delicious teriyaki chicken we were ready to give Taupo another chance and headed out to see the Huka falls that made up a little for the previous disappointments.

We miss Japan very much

Huka Falls on Waikato River and suicidal kayakers

On our last morning we woke up to sun! Encouraged, we changed our plans and drove off towards Tongariro National Park where we hope to do Tongario Alpine Crossing track, the only thing that made us come to the North Island!

Sun over Lake Taupo