Rotorua stinks (literally)

This does not mean that you should not come. There is cool stuff to see here, and other cool stuff nearby. However, the town's initial claim to fame is a number of hot springs, and there is just a constant scent of sulphur. When you go out for fresh air, it isn't. I don't know--I guess people in Albany get used to the paper mill. I seem to remember a similar place in California. If I remember correctly, it was near Mt. Shasta, but it was up away from everything.

Here the entire city is built around it, and it was the original tourist attraction in the area, going back as far as the 1860's. City residents and those within two miles radius can tap into the geothermal source for their heating, which is a huge cost savings. There are also a lot of spas built around it, but the pools must be redirected, because you cannot go in directly. The temperature of one pool is 140 degrees Celsius. They have lost a few people. They used to lose the occasional drunk, but they have since put up railings around each pool and spout. Also, there have been some suicides, and our tour guide stopped at least two tourists from going in, so I suppose there could have been tourists whom no one was there to stop. Grim.

So we stopped by the Waitomo Glowworm Caves on the way here yesterday, and today we have just come back from Hobbiton. Now we need to watch the movies again. We saw the party tree, both of Sam's houses, and Bag End. Do I sound like a geek now? Oh well. It was, and still is, a large working sheep farm, so they also did a shearing demonstration for us, and we got to bottle feed lambs. Adorable. They are so cute when they run. They haven't been docked yet, so they still have long tails and they wag them when they feed.

Tomorrow we have a kiwi encounter at Rainbow Springs Nature Park, where we will also see many other native birds and reptiles, as well as trout, and then we go to a Maori performance and feast at night. Then Thursday we take off for the South Island. This is Tuesday, so a week from tonight we will be back at home. Actually, the rain today has been a lot like home, so the transition may not be too harsh.