ROTORUA

3 January 2018: After our visit to the 3D Gallery we had a quick lunch ... My hunny had BurgerFuel and Nats and I had sushi ... and then drove into the city centre of Rotorua.  Because the weather was so bad we couldn't go to the main attraction being the lake.  Here is a bit of history around Rororua ...

Rotorua /ˌroʊtəˈruːə, -toʊ-/^[4][5] (Māori: Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe "The second great lake of Kahumatamomoe") is a city on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua from which the city takes its name, located in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing Rotorua and several other nearby towns. The majority of the Rotorua District is in the Bay of Plenty Region, but a sizeable southern section and a small western section are in the Waikato Region.^[6] Rotorua is in the heart of the North Island, 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of Tauranga, 80 km (50 mi) north of Taupo, 105 km (65 mi) east of Hamilton, and 230 km (140 mi) southeast of the nation's most populous city, Auckland.

Rotorua has an estimated permanent population of 58,800, making it the country's 10th largest urban area, and the Bay of Plenty's second largest urban area behind Tauranga. The Rotorua District has a total estimated population of 71,700^[3], of which 3,600 live in the Waikato section.^[6]

Rotorua is a major destination for both domestic and international tourists; the tourism industry is by far the largest industry in the district. It is known for its geothermal activity, and features geysers – notably the Pohutu Geyser at Whakarewarewa – and hot mud pools. This thermal activity is sourced to the Rotorua caldera, on which the town lies.

 Geothermal areas

Thermal activity is at the heart of much of Rotorua's tourist appeal. Geysers and bubbling mud pools, hot thermal springs and Te Wairoa ("The Buried Village") — so named after it was buried by the 1886 Mount Tarawera eruption— are within easy reach of Rotorua.

In Kuirau Park, to the west end of Rotorua, hot bubbling mud pools dot the park.^[12] Visitors can soak their feet in hot pools.

Rotorua has the nickname Sulphur City, because of the hydrogen sulphide emissions, which gives Rotorua a "rotten eggs" smell,^[1] as well as rotten-rua combining its legitimate name and the rotten smell prevalent

We stopped at a park in the centre of town and were really intrigued by the thermal activity ...

This expanse of water is in the centre of the park ... and is constantly simmering.

This hole looked like a pot of porridge in a Shakespeare novel ... I could imagine a witch standing over it saying "bubble bubble toil and trouble",

Each new "pool" has a fence surrounding it which makes it quite safe to look at the activity.

Nats says that God had some leftover bits and used them to put this bird together ... It really is a strange looking one.

This tree is absolutely GORGEOUS ... it has multiple trunks and we are dwarfed by the span of its canopy.

I crocheted all the way there and all the way home ... A beautiful and productive trip!!!

Thanks Nats!!!!