New Zealand Diary, Day 14 morning

Day 14, morning: Redwoods?!
Since it was dark when we arrived in Rotorua the night before, we had no idea what we would find off of the main highway. We did know there were geysers and other geothermal features in the area, not only from the brochures, but also from the pervasive smell of sulfur. It was still a surprise, though, to open the curtains and see a huge column of steam rising from the ground just a couple hundred meters from the hotel!

Our hotel (R) and hot pools

We had not originally planned on coming this far in one day, so since we were here we decided to spend the day and one more night here, then maybe go on to Tauranga on the Bay of Plenty coast before we had to make our way back to Auckland. We drove the 2 km back to city center, where the iSite is, to see if we could find a less expensive room. They gave us three alternatives, all of which were along that same 2 km stretch of road. After brekkie at McDonald’s (where I got two more punches in my McCafé card), we went to check out the motels. The first two were older, but decent, but their rates were still in the NZ$120-$135 range. Finally, at the south end of town, just a block or so from the $140 Holiday Inn, was the Rotorua Motor Lodge.

In the office there we met Faith, the hard-working proprietor. She told us she had a room that she detected a bit of mildewy smell in, that would normally be $95, but she’d let us have it for $80. She offered to show it to us, and on the way there amid conversation about it, she lowered the price to $70. In the room, the smell was not very strong, and we like to have the windows open anyway. We knew there wouldn’t be a room in Tauranga for that low price, and it wasn’t that far a drive, so we decided to stay there for two nights–for the same price as the one night at the Holiday Inn!

While checking in, DW asked about low-cost things to do outdoors in the area, explaining that we really liked to hike. Faith said one of her favorite things to do was go to The Redwoods, a privately-owned public area with several hiking tracks, bike trails, and campgrounds & picnic areas. She said, “There’s a blue trail; skip that. Then there’s a green trail; you may as well skip that, too. Then there’s a yellow trail; that's good. It goes up a mountain and looks out over the thermal pools. There’s also a purple trail that’s longer, but I haven’t done it, yet.” She also told us about the council park near the hospital and city center, Kuirau, where there were lots of hot pools.

After putting our stuff in the room, we followed the directions Faith gave us to The Redwoods. They have a simple, but nice, visitor’s center, with a large 3-D model of the area. The friendly lady behind the information counter helped us decide between the Yellow Track (approx. 7.5 km, 2 hours) and the Purple Track (11.5 km, 3½ hours). It was only about 9:30, and we knew we walked faster than the stated times, so we started on the Purple (Tokorangi Pa) track.

Most of the walking tracks start with a level stroll through the large redwood grove on the valley floor. Yes, California Redwoods, sequoia sempervirens. They had been brought to this area at around the turn of the 20th century for lumber purposes, along with European larch, Douglas fir, and a few other species. Just before we started up the hill, there was a spring with clear, still water. The track then climbed the mountain with some steep sections, including stairs. We walked around through working forest, some of which had recently been logged, and at the top was the site of Tokorangi Pa. The pa had been long abandoned, of course, and we could only see minimal signs of it. The way down passed along a small creek and by a meadow with a few cows, then finally back along a forest road to the visitor’s center and carpark. I’ll just let the photos tell the rest of the story.

Rotorua town and lake

Cattle on a hillside

Signpost at the summit

Trees in rows, as if
it were a cropfield

Oh, by the way, we were correct that we would finish before the estimated 3½ hours. It took us just under 3 hours, and we really took our time on the last half. DW recorded some video to catch the birds singing. If I have any success at editing those to show off those birds, I’ll post the video here or in Google+.