Rain in Rotorua

It has been quite a soggy day today.  The morning started in Rotorua with a bite to eat at a coffee shop in the heart of the city.  We then headed to the Rotorua Museum, housed in the massive Tudor 1908 baths buildings; the earliest remaining building of the historic medical facilities which put Rotorua on the map well over a century ago.

The museum was quite nice.  We learned a ton about Maori (the natives of New Zealand) and how they came to arrive on the island, as well as their culture.  Also, there was a wealth of information about the area and a massive volcanic eruption in the 1860s which changed the landscape and perception of the area by Europeans permanently.  There was an interactive movie about the eruption and the building itself (all tied together with the common vein of the geothermic activity right beneath Rotorua).  After the movie we wandered a portion of the building which was preserved, and in some cases, restored with some displays, which showed the history of the baths.  Ascending the sweeping stairs in the main foyer, we were afforded a view of the English gardens as well as a history of some of the uses the building endured after the baths closed in the 1960s.  It was crazy to see the transformation from historic bath to nightclub to museum.  Finally, we went up to two small galleries on the second floor and saw some photographs.

We struck out in a bit of a drizzle to seek out some redwood forests, but after the map led us astray (the car can’t go through fenced off roads), we headed back to the lakefront for a few last-minute pictures before beginning the drive to Taupo.  Things always happen for a reason, and as we approached the shore at Sulphur Bay Wildlife Refuge a large rainbow appeared across the sky.   We snapped some pictures and headed south toward Taupo on a State Highway.  Along the way, we made a few detours and stops for photo ops at a geothermal spring, Wai-O-Tapu.  On the final approach into the city, we pulled off at an overlook over Taupo and got a nice overview before descending the hill and finding our hotel on the waterfront.  We got our key and found our room had a fantastic vie out over the lake and mountains – we could tell that it is going to be a great time in Taupo!

For some reason we were both craving some sodium, so we walked down a block along the lakefront to KFC (the culture and commercial geography of New Zealand much more closely resemble America than Australia does).  Overall, the food was not nearly as good as that in America, but it was a nice attempt… (no biscuits, seriously?!?!).  Now we are just hanging around in the room watching some tv (the shows are quite entertaining).  We would go to bed, but a news bit promised at 10:30 seems too tantalizing – apparently for some time, the news network in New Zealand has been running a segment called “Weird Things Chinese Get Stuck In.”  We had trouble believing this was real, but sure enough, it seems New Zealanders are blatantly that racist – on the news!!!