The residents don’t notice the smell anymore, but all of Rotorua smells like rotten eggs. It truly does smell like a really rank fart. This region is a major geothermically active area of the country. Bubbling pools of mud are scattered about and vast geothermal parks are set up outside the city. Many of them even have natural geysers, which we would have loved to have seen, but the price tag for tours kept us away. (As did the price tag for Maori cultural performances, skyline gondola rides, and zorbing–which is basically rolling down a hill inside a massive inflatable plastic ball. It’s the new trend in adrenaline sports.)

We scheduled just a short time in Rotorua and were able to stay with the sweetest couple–Trevor & Desley. Desley’s daughter is the pastor’s wife at the church we visited twice in Nelson. We were given the grand tour of the extensive gardens they’ve created over the past eight years.

On Sunday afternoon we had the pleasure of meeting Desley’s son and his wife and family for a picnic. After lunch, they were kind enough to give us a tour of Blue Lake and Lake Tarawera, where a volcano eruption in 1886 covered the Pink & White Terraces (natural rock formations that people would come see from all over the world).

After the lakes we went for a short walk through the Redwoods.

Then it was off to dinner in Rotorua with our friend Levi’s parents (Levi & his wife Suzanne own Seren Motus fitness studios in Franklin, TN where I take BarreAmped classes). We had fun hearing stories about Levi from the days when he won the first season of the reality television competition Treasure Island (New Zealand’s version of Survivor).

As we left Rotorua we stopped by the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Park to see more bubbling mud. It’s fascinating to see the steam rising off boiling mud. Check it out for yourself:

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