This morning we woke up and the first thing was first - making our way to Rotorua and finding water to fill up the truck.
But even before THAT there was a problem. Both a tiny and yet also rather large problem. Ants. EVERYWHERE. We woke up at the camp site and went to put away our sheets and pillows...and flipped over our pillows to find HUNDREDS OF ANTS. Basically building a home where we'd been sleeping. SO GROSS.
We got out as many as we could (and killed the rest). Then we opened the passenger side door to see that they'd built another fort over there:
SO. Our first IMMEDIATE stop became the grocery store to get Raid and whatever else we could to get rid of the little buggers. Oy. All I can say is, at least the spray worked. We were able to spray them and clean up the car before heading back on the road. Blah.
After our detour, we headed towards Rotorua and, using our handy dandy CamperMate app, we headed directly towards a campsite (to look at if we wanted to stay there for the night.) While we decided we would probably not stay in town for the night and would continue on our journey, what did we find at the end of the road? The beautiful Lake Rotorua!
What a lovely welcome to New Zealand! MAN it was beautiful! And just made us THAT much more excited to enjoy our surroundings on our drive! After a quick look around and a snack stop, we used our app and found a fresh water source in the middle of town. The app took us to a park. Where we couldn't find any pumps. Hmm. At this point it was lunch time so we decided to have a picnic at the park (so cute!)...and then we discovered that the park was full of geothermal springs and there was water spraying from small ponds all around the camp site!
The whole park had been built around these springs, which are actually all over this area of NZ. In the park there was also a mini soaking pool where water from the springs flowed into it, so it was nice and warm :). While we didn't go swimming, we ate lunch and then we (::cough cough I::) took advantage of the AWESOME playground in the park. It had toys like I'd never seen at a playground! So fun!
After a nice break we headed back to the van to figure out our water situation. We had found the closest tap in our wanderings...and it was not at ALL close to where we'd parked the car. So we took some of our (now emptied) 1.5 liter water bottles and filled them at the tap and brought them back to the car to try to fill the water. When Jon tried to pour the water into our tank, the water started coming out. Which was when he remembered that in order to use the water in the van you need to turn on a PUMP. Sure enough, as soon as he turned on the pump, the water started flowing freely from the tap. Guess we could have cooked last night after all. Oops! Good to know Jucy didn't screw us over and that we actually had a full water tank!
So now that we were fully stocked and fed we decided to head off in search of geothermal springs! As mentioned above, this area of New Zealand is known for its geothermal activity, particularly its hot springs. So we used our CamperMate app to find the best hot springs, set the GPS location, and we were off!
Now it was my turn (for the first time) to take the wheel in New Zealand! I must say, I was more than a bit apprehensive, but it honestly wasn't that bad at all! Once you get acclimated to sitting on the other side of the car and the fact that the controls are on the opposite sides (windshield wipers are switched with turn signals - THAT took some getting used to) it's just like driving on the right side :-p. So we were off with me behind the wheel and headed for the geothermal park. Along the way we passed some BEAUTIFUL vistas (I'm convinced New Zealand doesn't have anything else) and driving around amazing open plains. We got to one spot and finally crossed over our first one-lane bridge (of which there are MANY in New Zealand). Before you go over a one-lane bridge there is a sign telling you whether or not you have the right-of-way. Helpful :-p. Anyhoo, we drove along a particularly idyllic stretch of land, somewhat around a lake and river for quite a while. And the GPS told us to turn left. A LOT. After about 40 minutes of driving I said to Jon:
"We've definitely been here before."
Now, it's certainly easy to think that when driving in NZ. After all, there is a LOT of farmland, lots of plains, lots of mountains, lots of streams. A lot of them look the same. But I was certain. We had DEFINITELY seen these same trees and lands before. Oh boy.
Jon looked at the GPS and sure enough, our GPS (which we have dubbed "James") was taking us in a giant circle. TWICE. Turns out there had been ONE "turn" which hadn't really been a turn, which he hadn't really said anything at (ya know like, "MAKE A RIGHT DUMMY") and, because James couldn't figure out how to go straight or turn around, we had gone in a GIANT circle. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
The good news was that it was a BEAUTIFUL drive, the bad news was that we had wasted a lot of gas and time. The other good news was that we didn't REALLY have anywhere to be at any specific time. Oh the joys of renting a camper van! I still can't believe he basically just turned us in a giant circle for like an hour!!!
After our VERY LONG detour, we finally ended up at the Wai-0-Tapu Geothermal Park around 2 pm. We legit had NO idea what to expect, but after paying $40 our only thought was "This better be good". I shouldn't say that. Our thought was: "This is probably going to be amazing or suck SO HARD."
Anddddd BOY were we glad it was the first one!!
We began our trek through Wai-O-Tapu by visiting a number of roped off hot springs, each with water ranging from 60-100 degrees Celsius. There were tons of these smaller springs around, all emitting the gloriously putrid smell of sulfur which often accompanies hot springs.
Many of these springs were VERY deep and VERY brilliantly colored, ranging from bright yellow (from sulfur) to reds and oranges to blues. There was even one called "The Painter's Palette". Quite pretty.
After wandering for a bit we came upon a BEAUTIFUL and HUGE hot spring, which they call Champagne Lake:
The park has three different paths that you can follow to look at the geothermal features. Champagne Lake is in the middle of Wai-O-Tapu, right between the edge of the first and second trails. The first trail was only 30 minutes, and the second was only another 10 minutes long, so we decided to take the second path. When we got to the split off for the third we (I) couldn't help but wonder what other amazing sights we might see...so we ventured down the third path for the 75 minute hike. We wandered past beautiful formations, and waterways. It was stunning...
But nothing compared to the end of the third trail, where we found a GORGEOUS blue-green lake shimmering in the sun.
It was AMAZING. Seriously - I think the most beautiful thing either of us had ever seen - it was incredible. We stayed at the lake for a while, just kind of taking in all of its beauty. While we were there we also met a couple from Oregon who was travelling around NZ for a few weeks. We talked to them about the park and also about national parks within the US, many of which they had been to. They told us there were so many national parks in the US whose beauty could rival this park. Jon and I couldn't believe it! Visiting our own national parks is definitely high on our list of places to go, but talking to them made us look forward to exploring the west even more!
The last major site of the day was a crazy sight - one that we couldn't believe exists in real life. A lake that basically looks like lime green toxic sludge!
It seriously looked straight out of a sci-fi movie - SO strange to see in real life!
We had such a wonderful time wandering around the geothermal park - it was a really amazing day. After the park we continued our drive on to Taupo, located on the beautifully picturesque Lake Taupo. There was a lodge about halfway to Taupo with access to hot spring pools, so we decided to see if we could find it to stay for the night. Our GPS, James, who had been quite fickle with us already today (and who we were pretty much ready to give up on - Jon definitely threatened to switch to one of the other "voices" on the GPS if he didn't behave) gave us the directions to get to the campsite. So we started driving. And then he took us down a superrrrr narrow, windy, one lane road, past LOTS of sheep (but at least with some stunning views). We were pretty sure the campsite was very close to the park...but we couldn't seem to find it...and kept driving...and driving. After about 20 minutes on the road we ended up in...the same spot. Literally back at the entrance to the park.
WHAT HAPPENED???
Turns out we'd made a wrong turn right out the gate from the park...and James hadn't figured out a way for us to turn around. So instead he took us in a massive loop. Within 10 minutes of arriving BACK at our original location, he was able to take us straight to the campesite. Literally 10 minutes away. Awesome. Oh James. This was your second strike. One more and it's "Bye Bye James!"
Once we arrived at the campsite we were told there were no plug-in campsites available, but that we could basically pay the same to stay in an unplugged campsite and still be able to use the hot springs. While it was enticing (especially since it had laundry and *someone* had pretty much run out of clothes...:COUGH COUGH JON COUGH:: we DID need electrical outlets to be able to charge some of our stuff. We'd also heard that there were free hot springs closer to Taupo, so for all of those reasons it wasn't really worth it. Which meant it was time to get back on the road to Taupo.
We used our handy dandy CamperMate app to find a plug-in site in Taupo central and drove straight to our campsite, so hopefully tomorrow we'll have a chance to drive around town a bit. The paid campsite for the night was a nice choice as it allowed us to not only charge all of our electronics, but also to take advantage of nice bathrooms and hot showers, as well as to do some laundry. Oh the joys of glamping :).
The whole rest of the way to Taupo was STUNNING. New Zealand is seriously the most gorgeous place on Earth. And we've only been to the North Island! Everyone tells us the South Island is far more beautiful! I'm definitely already looking forward to our next trip back to NZ to explore the south!!
Once at the campsite we were greeted by a lovely woman at the front desk. After telling her we hoped to be in Taupo for a few days her immediate reaction was "You MUST go skydiving here. The weather tomorrow is going to be PERFECT. That means TOMORROW IS THE DAY TO GO!!!"
Now, ever since we had planned this trip, I had been looking forward to (and also a nervous wreck about) the idea of skydiving on the South Island of New Zealand. When our plans changed, I was quite disappointed, as I'd already decided that I wanted to jump in Queenstown. However, Taupo is THE PLACE to skydive on the North Island. It also so happens to be the MOST SKYDIVED location of anywhere in the world per year! So! If we are going to skydive ANYWHERE in the North Island of New Zealand, Taupo is the place!
Now, while I'd been set on always skydiving in New Zealand, Jon on the other hand SWORE at the beginning of this trip that there was no way I'd get him to go skydiving with me (because of course he knew that I intended to go!) However...that was the same thing he'd said about scuba diving... and we know how that turned out :-D. He's definitely a bit more apprehensive about it than I am, but I think he'll turn around...! We shall see!
We anxiously talked to the woman at the front desk for a few minutes (she'd never been but had vowed to go by the end of the year) and told her we'd give her our final decision in the morning. Yikes! With that in mind, we set out for our camper van to make our first meal in our spacious kitchen...pasta with meat sauce!
And while we cooked, what did we discuss? Skydiving, of course. Both of us seeeeeeeeeeem to be on board but we decided we're going to make our final decision when we wake up in the morning. Eeek!
After a pretty delicious (and satisfying - we were HUNGRY!) dinner, we realized that.... our USB device can be plugged into the tv in our camper van to watch movies! WOO WOO!!! When we'd been in Africa we'd made some friends who'd had a bunch of movies which they wonderfully shared with us. So, MANY THANKS to Julie and Marcus for keeping us entertained with Modern Family tonight!!! (Of what is, I'm sure, the first of MANY tv/movie showings in the van!)
It's been a long day - looking forward to making our BIG DECISION tomorrow!!!
Jess' highlight of the day: Wai-O-Tapu and the AMAZING and beautiful views!
Jon's highlight of the day: Wai-O-Tapu and the amazing and BEAUTIFUL views!
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