"Rotorua" a Rotorua Travel Page by Kate-Me

Rotorua, in New Zealand's North Island, south of Auckland, is one of the most fascinating places I've ever been on earth (right up there with Pompeii and Coober Pedy, my other 'out of this world' unusual Top spots)

It's an amazing geothermal world of volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, bubbling mud, and steam shooting out of vents deep in the earth.

Here is a pic of a Traditional carved maori hut at the Whakawerawera Thermal Park (the largest and in my opinion, the best in Rotorua)

I should add that half of the photos you'll see here were taken by my husband - since on Day 3 of our 1999 holiday I was rushed to Hospital (see Warnings page if you want to know what happened)
I've been back to Rotorua a couple of times since, and this time managed to have successful trips.

At the Whakawerawera Thermal Reserve you can see a geyser which goes off almost like clockwork, on the hour, but there can also be unexpected eruptions in the town, such as one which happened in April 2003.

In this event, a rogue geyser went off near an industrial area and hurled mud and ash 100 metres into the air.
It went off as a loud bang and hydrogen suplhide levels rose dangerously high, but fortunately dropped again very quickly, so they didn't have to evacuate the area.

The pretty green rolling hills and forest around Rotorua.