We woke up our first morning in New Zealand from dead sleeps and after hitting the snooze a few times, we were up and ready for the day. The host of our hostel was kind enough to drive us back to the airport so we could pick up our car and after a bit of confusion as to where our rental company was, we had our car and were on our way! It was interesting to navigate driving on the left while sitting on the right of the car, but we picked it up pretty quickly and were off to explore the New Zealand countryside.
The first stop of our day was the town of Rotorua, about two and a half hours south east of Auckland. To get there, we drove through remote country towns and were continually awed by how the “state highways” were nothing like the interstates and highways that we were used to in the States. As we came in to Rotorua, we pulled off at a place that we had researched online...a place where we could Zorb!
Zorbing is basically rolling down a giant hill in a large plastic ball with a little bit of water in the bottom to cushion your ride. Why would you want to do that, you might ask yourself? Why not!? We say! We were able to go together in the Zorb, so we changed into our swim suits and off we went! It was a hilarious, exciting, and fun experience to say the least!
After Zorb-ing, we drove in to the town of Rotorua and started to explore. We had noticed on our drive down from Auckland that as we got closer to Rotorua, signs told us that we were traveling on the “Thermal Explorer Highway.” One of the things Rotorua is known for is the hot springs and just driving along the road through town, we saw various points where steam was just rising from the ground. Of course, once you get out of your car, the first smell that strikes you is that sulphur “rotton egg” smell. Luckily, it’s only strongest with a breeze, so it wasn’t too noticeable and we were able to sit outside at a street cafe and get some lunch. Then we went to Hell’s Gate, a geothermal reserve and spa. We were able to wander around the reserve and take some great pictures of the naturally existing hot springs and then we were lucky enough to be able to soak in the hot springs for as long as we wanted.
Once we were thoroughly relaxed from the spa, we showered off and were off to our hostel for the evening in the National Park. We drove by Lake Taupo on our way, a massive body of water that was breathtaking to look at. Finally, we arrived at our hostel for the evening and since we had a big day planned for Thursday, we were off to bed early.
More soon!
Jess and Erin
What a lot of fun. Can't wait to hear more about Zorbbing! Enjoy the warmer weather. It's 8 degrees here this evening! Brrrrr. MOM
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