Science Rocks! And Rotorua Smells

The plan was to get out of town for a few days before we had to get back to work. We decided we needed some sort of adventure...we had looked into CouchSurfing in Rotorua (about 3 hour drive south from here), and had a list of things to do in the city. Getting up and going clearly did not happen on Sunday. Nor did we get a response from anyone to sleep on their couches. Good start.  sooo..... as road trips usually don't get going until much later than planned, we left on Monday instead.

We filled up with petrol and headed south. We planned the drive so we could stop through Matamata, otherwise known as Hobbiton, where Lord of the Rings was filmed. Unfortunately (yeah right.... thank GOD.... because I have NO interest in Lord of the Rings, and neither do the other girls really... it just seemed like something we had to do being in NZ),  you have to pay $25 a person to ride the Hobbiton bus out to the already torn down filming set. So we crushed that dream and got back into the car and continued on our way to Rotorua.

Hobbit-country.  A self guided tour that we gave ourselves - fo free.

We dropped our things off at the hostel we stayed at and headed out to check out "New Zealand's largest mud pools." yep. its as exciting as it sounds. A natural area the size of a pool filled with mud (and since it was POURING down rain, there was a thankfully a LOT of mud) that is so hot from thermal heating. we took a LOT of pictures there... let me tell you. 

New Zealand's Largest Mud Pool.  In all its glory.

I would like to add a little here to Jackie's wonderful color commentary about what I was going through my head while gazing out at the beautiful grey muck that was the mud pools.  Now when the mud pools bubble and then explode for lack of a better word, they make the most awful fart noise to accompany the most awful fart stench the fills the area.  Earth science at its most glamorous.  So while taking in yet another example of the wonders that are this planet I could not help but laugh to myself (literally, I laughed, outloud, to myself) about how once upon a time a Wheatley family vacation would transpire at such a locale.  I decided on lots of fart jokes, lots of ooohs and ahhhs at said fart sounds, lots of complaining about fart smells, and it would probably deteriorate from there.  In conclusion - thinking of you family!  -ADW

Ooooh Mud Explosions!!!

Geothermally heated mud STINKS!

Next off to the hot pools. They are public pools that they fill then empty on a daily basis with natural mineral water that is heated naturally by the earth. On a walk after our dip in the pools, Anna (in the most Gary Wheatley sort of way), notably stated, "this (water) is SO COOL....because... it's heated by the earth." True... it is cool. its practically like having free hot tubs EVERYWHERE. and everyone knows how I love free things.

Who knew hot springs could be so exciting?

Tuesday was our tramping day. no, not that kind of tramping. Thats what they call hiking here. We went out into a Redwood forest and walked around a lake, had lunch, then drove to a place we were told we could see a few waterfalls. It was BEAUTIFUL, but this was no Snoqualmie falls. We did get to see whitewater rafters coming down the river (and the waterfall), and decided that would be something we should definitely look into. 

We headed back into the city and walked around the Sulphur Pools, found a few cool native Maori art places, and grabbed dinner and a few mugs of "Swine Lager" at the Pig&Whistle restaurant. Unlike how I described most of the Rotorua adventure, it was really fun. For the first time, we packed bags, got out of town for the weekend, tested out STEWIE's ability to do long distance.... we are true travelers....

and true workers. Alissa got a job at a pool (St. Albert) teaching swim lessons, guarding, and has been offered every free hour they have for the next few months.! Our next task is looking into some semi-permanent housing for when we leave the house we're in until around Christmas time! 

that's that. can someone post a comment on this blog... because we know a lot of people read it, but nobody wants to write on it. 

Love,

Jackie, Anna, and Alissa