Rotorua

I must be getting used to this place. I’ve had the latest rental car for three days and haven’t tried getting in on the wrong side once. The car - a Mazda 6 - is quite an improvement from what I had before. It has a CD player that doesn’t skip, cruise control, weather-stripping that works and the power to pass on these two-lane roads. It’s nice to have a car that responds to me and not vise-versa. Except for the occasional scrum in the roundabouts, driving is quite easy here. Zoom, zoom.

My next night was in Rotorua, New Zealand’s largest geothermal region. My hotel, the Solora, was lakefront and adjacent to the Blue Baths and Polynesian Spa which, a 1903 government report claimed, causes cripples to throw away their crutches and the gouty man regains his health. Their waters were hot, stinky and quite refreshing.

The hotel offered a Maori cultural experience at a nightly hangi dinner with traditional foods, song and dance performances. I’d heard the whole thing was a bit hokie with Maori warriors strutting and dancing, and their maidens singing and telling tales of spirituality. But I had a really good time. I’m sure my front row seat didn’t hurt.

As I checked out, I asked directions to the geothermal region. The whole area south of Rotorua is filled with geysers, colorful thermal pools and variety of Polynesian cultural sites. I was pleased to hear the desk clerk recommended Wai-O-Tapu, the place I’d previously selected from my tour book.

Wai-O-Tapu is a kind of a little sister to America’s Yellowstone National Park. My visit was early in the morning, and it was rainy. The thermal pools were covered with steam clouds. I took lots of pictures and posted a few to Facebook. But my shots are nothing like the postcard shots in the gift shop.

While out at the Mud Pools, one friendly Kiwi offered many suggestions of other places to visit and things to see. I thanked her for the suggestions, but secretly knew I hadn’t the time to visit NZ’s redwoods, the Bay of Plenty and a number of other sites. For every place I visited on my two weeks here there are five more I should have seen if I only had the time. I promised myself to return.

It’s back to Australia tomorrow, first to Tasmania then onto Melbourne and the Great Ocean Drive. I’ve started referring to this trip as the Never-ending Vacation. And if I didn’t have to come home, I’d stay for months instead of weeks. It’s that kind of place.