Day 5, Rotorua New Zealand

Redwood Forest

One of the many things that makes New Zealand so unique is its diversity in landscape. The rich forests are plush with majestic trees, yet there are subtleties everywhere to remind you you're still on a tropical island. The ferns are mixed in with an occasional palm tree, but then you look high in the sky and witness a textured, snow-capped mountain floating in the distance. It's like the island is trying to confuse you with its spectrum of beauty.

On Thursday morning, we drove from Hamilton to Rotorua, which took about an hour and a half. We wanted to start our day off with a scenic walk through the Redwood Forest. And it was breathtaking.

Sneaky...

The entire city of Rotorua is located on a "hot spot" of the earth, very much like Yellowstone. There are hot pools and rivers everywhere, steaming and reminding passerby of the volcanic activity that encompasses much of New Zealand.

Rach reaching for the sky-high trees.

A group of Chinese tourists came by and made us hold this pose for about five minutes so they could take pictures of us. It reminded me of the fun, friendly culture all throughout China!

Did you know that even a spider web can be beautiful?

After our morning walk, we decided to act like giddy little kids again, and ride the Luge of Rotorua. First, you ride a gondola up to the tippity top of the island and enjoy a glorious view.

Then you put on these goofy looking helmets and take a skylift even higher up on the mountain...

 All so that you can act 8-years old again and ride down the fast windy tracks. 

 We had to do this three times. It was too much fun!

I love that Jon planned out our entire itinerary for the first week on the North Island. Every day felt packed with adventures. After the luge and a quick sandwich from food we bought at the grocery store, we went to enjoy some New Zealand culture at Te Puia Cultural Center, which is built around the Whakarewarewa (say that three times fast) Geothermal Area. Throughout the area are exciting geysers and hot springs to see, and hopefully not to smell. :-)

This geyser actually shoots up to 80 feet high.  

Jon knew how much I hoped to see some Maori culture while experiencing New Zealand, so he took me to a performance at Te Puia and I just soaked it all in.

I LOVE the Haka and the fact that because of how powerful it is, Maori influence has spread throughout sports in the United States. I was dying to see the real thing while I was there. Thank you, Te Puia.

There is a story behind every cultural dance, which is why I fell in love with International Folk Dance at BYU. This represents a Maori tribal warrior preparing for battle, intimidating their enemies with their tongue and eyes. Even the women would chant along as part of their prayer that their men would return home safely.

Rotorua has an array of hot pools to soak in and enjoy, but by the time dinner rolled around we were exhausted and still had an hour drive ahead of us to our hotel in Taupo. Because it is winter in New Zealand, it gets dark around 5:30pm, which didn't help out our energy levels! . Furthermore, we knew we needed to rest up for our anniversary hike waiting for us the next day.