[lettie]

After a brief spell in Auckland to get over the jet lag at my step brothers, I hired myself a little car and beggared off for a while on my own. The first place I went to was Rotorua. The Kiwis call Rotorua 'Rotovegas' a popular destination for stag and hen do's. I didn't let that put me off, and am so glad. Rotorua is at the heart of the volcanic plateau, and is thermally very active. Pools of bubbling mud, geysers and boiling sulphurous pools are all to be found in this district. The whole place smells of hydrogen sulphide gas (rotten eggs) and you can smell it on your clothes long after you've left (even after washing them). I thought it was wonderful. You're never short of something to do in Rotorua, lots of outdoor activities here bungy jumping, zorbing, jet boating, windsurfing, kayaking and the list goes on. I took these pictures in the Maori village of Whakarewarewa, the best place to view the geysers. It was a rainy day and there's steam everywhere, it was even coming up from the gutters on the main road. In the 2nd piccy is the dormant Pohutu geyser, and the 3rd Pic it's in full flow, with the smaller Prince of Wales Feathers geyser going off at the same time.