++ a silence i can't ignore ++: ++North New Zealand | Day 06 | Wai-o-tapu & the buried village, Rotorua

DAY06: Rotorua

we from Rotorua: Cosy cottage thermal holiday park
wai-o-tapu thermal wonderland (32km from cosy cottage)(NZD32.50 perperson)
the buried village (43km from waiotapu)(NZD32.50 perperson)
Rotorua Marathon Bib Collection (Energy Event Centre)(16km from village)
dinner at Chimney indian cuisine (in rotorua town)
Overnight in Rotorua (hotel) Four Canoes Hostel (in rotorua town, 2km from event center)(hotel)

F&B DAY06
breakfast: bread with choc spread & cheese
lunch: we only munch our breakfast bar/chocolate/snacks
dinner: Chimney indian cuisine : biriyani lamb 13 Mango lassi 4.00
-pilot MN
-copilot WR
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Day 6 & 7 were basically spend at Rotorua.
Rotorua, a town set on its namesake lake on New Zealand's North Island, is renowned for its geothermal activity and Maori culture. In Te Puia’s Whakarewarewa Valley, there are bubbling mud pools and the 30m-tall Pohutu Geyser, which erupts many times daily. It’s also home to a living Maori village and the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, with traditional wood carving and weaving schools.

wai-o-tapu thermal wonderland
From our holiday park (cosy cottage thermal holiday park), we drove around 32km to the wai-o-tapu thermal wonderland, southern rotorua.
Sculptured out of volcanic activity and thousands of years in the making, Wai-O-Tapu is considered to be New Zealand’s most colourful and diverse geothermal sightseeing attraction. it was also names as "one of the 20 Most surreal places in the world".

Lady knox geyser:
But before we proceeded to the wai-o-tapu, we dropped by at the LADY KNOX GEYSER.
The Lady Knox Geyser is located in a separate area from the Visitor Centre of this wai-o-tapu (a 3 minute drive from the visitor center). At 10.15am each day there is the opportunity to learn the history and mechanics of the Lady Knox Geyser during a presentation by an informed guide in the natural amphitheatre. It provides a unique opportunity to see a geyser in eruption to heights of 10 to 20 metres.

The main spot inside this wai-o-tapu is the champagne pool (reaally pretty hot springs pool) & also the devil's bath (water pond, made yellow/greenish color by sulfur).

the buried village of te wairoa:
After that, we went to the buried village of te wairoa, 43km from the wai-o-tapu thermal wonderland.
The Buried Village has origins which can be traced back to the Depression, and the 1931 arrival at Te Wairoa of Reg and Vi Smith who along with their young sons, travelled in a borrowed car to what was a derelict cottage on overgrown land.
The village was destroyed by the eruption of the volcano Mount Tarawera on June 10, 1886. 120 people died in the eruption, many of them in other villages closer to the volcano.
Te Wairoa was established by the Christian missionary in 1848 as a model village, however Te Wairoa survived for fewer than 40 years before it, and the nearby Pink and White Terraces were obliterated by the eruption of Mt Tarawera.
The beginning of this tour is a museum of te wairoa, home to valuable collection of Victoriana and other specific relics of the Tarawera eruption.
at the end of the museum, there's a door to the burried village, where more relics are displayed in cases on the sites where they were recoevered.
Then, there's scenic pathways that linked the buried village with the surrounding. and also we spend time walking down the steps to wairere Falls where the water plunges 30meters over the waitoharuru cliffs.
And the end of that path, we end up at the waitoharuru valley lookout point, giving us the beautiful view of Lake tarawera.

rotorua energy event centre:
16km away from the buried village, we went to rotorua enerygy event centre, for the marathoners (MMTK, WR, IR)'s bib collection for the Rotorua Marathon (day 7).
Me & MON didnt participate in the marathon but will do different activities tomorrow.

we then checked in to four canoes hostel (for 2nites).
we didnot sleep in our motorhome this night so that the marathoners will get enough relaxing normal sleep for their 42km run tomorrow.

before sleep, we wonder around rotorua town to find halal restaurant, we were lucky, there's one located nearby (sojodddd sokorrrrr), Chimney indian cuisine restaurant. ahhh tthe joy of eating proper food. i ate nasi beriani.
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the pictures:
ticket entry to wai-o-tapu thermal wonderland