Rotorua - Geothermal activity and Kiwi Birds

One thing that Rotorua is known for is the geothermal activity in the area. Driving around, you can see random areas where steam is rising, especially after rain. That and the smell of sulphur. 

So we spent some time at Hell’s Gate, so named after George Bernard Shaw visited in 1934 and upon seeing the boiling mud and steam billowing in the sky proclaimed that “this could be the very gate of Hell.” 

I’ve not ever been anywhere quite like it. 

Signs everywhere said to stay on the paths because it was active and could break out in new areas. Hot spots ranged from a 104 degree waterfall to other areas as hot at 250 degrees. There was definitely a lot of boiling from water and there was no temptation for me to stray from the path.

What it hard to see in pictures is what Hell’s Gate smells like. Sulfur so strong it burned the eyes. I had to walk through parts of the several mile path breathing into my shirt sleeve because it made me cough. As interesting and otherworldly as it looked, it was not the kind of walk you really lingered much on. 

Afterwards, we got to learn how to using traditional hand tools to carve some Maori symbols into wood. It was harder than I expected. The boys loved working with the hand tools though, and I think we be trying more of that in the future. 

The middle bottom is a kiwi bird.

Later, we spent our allotted 20 minutes in the mud bath; covering arms, legs, face and chest with the light tan mud and sitting out to dry before rinsing off in the sulfurous pools. We tried out a few other hot pools with varying temperatures until we were done. 

It was fun and I suppose there are therapeutic properties, but it takes forever for the sulfur smell to come out of our bathing suits despite buying the “special detergent” and soaking them for hours. 

The next day we finally got a replacement tire for the one that busted in Waitomo and had a bit more time, so we went over to the Kiwi Hatchery to learn more about these adorable flightless birds. 

We had been hearing about kiwi birds since we arrived and the kids really wanted to see one, but they are nocturnal and endangered, so this was problematic. 

Luckily, the kiwi hatchery had a room that mimics the night and we could see four different birds foraging around their enclosures and a baby kiwi had just hatched that morning.  

No pictures allowed of the actual birds, but it was still a cool experience. 

A representation of kiwi bird egg and young birds. Jimmy was happy to be here, despite his expression.

This a representation of a full size kiwi bird.