If there is ever be a time when you should be grateful that scratch and sniff computer screens haven’t been invented yet, the time is now.
If it weren’t for the fact that Rich and I are skinflints and had paid for two nights in a backpackers in Rotorua, we might have carried on driving straight through to Lake Taupo. There’s still a small part of me that wished we had.
Rotorua is an amazing place to visit, despite the smell, due to the amount of geothermal activity in the area. Home to geysers, boiling mud pools, steaming craters and natural hot springs, Rich and I had a lot to see.
“It was a very spectacular sight indeed but it really did stink too!”
Unfortunately, everywhere we went we couldn’t get away from the rancid sulphur smell that lingers in the air and which can engulf your nose, throat and lungs as quickly as the wind changes direction.
I felt physically sick at times when the smell was really strong, Rich managed to whinge less than I did, but we knew one thing for sure, we wanted to experience the geological sights on offer and then move on!
We first headed to Wai-O-Tapu scenic reserve, which covers eighteen square kilometres of thermal wonders in the Taupo volcanic zone. Lady Knox Geyser erupts here at quarter past ten every morning, not exactly from natural causes, but because of an environmentally friendly concoction that gets poured into it.
When the ‘stuff’ gets poured into the geyser, it breaks the surface tension of the water below and the geyser can erupt for up to an hour, with twenty metre high jets of water flying out of the vent. It was a very spectacular sight indeed but it really did stink too!
After getting sulphurous water sprayed on us at the Lady Knox Geyser, we headed to the ‘thermal wonderland’ with trails that meandered around craters and lakes filled with steaming, boiling water and lined with multicolour rock stained by minerals such as sulphur (green), iron (red), carbon (black), manganese oxide (purple) and antimony (orange).
The array of colours on display were a feast for the eyes. It looked like someone had come along and poured dye into the lakes and thrown coloured powder into the caves, such was the intensity of the natural wonders before us.
We spent a couple of hours walking around the volcanic terrace of Wai-O-Tapu. We smiled for the camera as much as we could but left most of the photos to show the natural beauty around us, always allowing for one hand to cover our nose should the smell get really really strong!
Our geothermal extravaganza continued with a visit to the bubbling mud pools and I have to admit there was something strangely mesmerising about watching pools of mud erupting!
The most relaxing way to experience the thermal wonders of the Taupo volcanic region in my opinion is to enjoy the natural hot springs. Rich and I headed to both Kerosene Creek and the bridge at Waiotapu Stream with our swimmers, to enjoy a free spa afternoon.
The temperature of the water at both hot springs was incredible, thankfully there was cold water in the creeks as well so all we had to do was move around until we found a spot that was just the right temperature for us!
Our spa afternoon was a fantastic way to experience the thermal waters of Rotorua and it wasn’t too smelly either. Nothing a hot soapy shower couldn’t clear from our pores anyway.
I will never be able to forget the smell of sulphur in Rotorua, it makes my stomach clench even thinking about it at times as I honestly felt like I could be sick.
As we drove out of town I wondered how so many people (sixty eight thousand) could live there with the threat of such a smell. Then I remembered that I’m an island girl who loves nothing more than stepping off the plane on the Isle of Man and breathing in the fresh salt air or the smell of manure driving past a farm.
For some it’s more than their senses can stand, but for me it’s just the smell of nature and of home. I’m sure that’s what the people of Rotorua think too.
Lambs on the loose 