So often when you are visiting another place you explore the tourist book stuff and see adds for stuff that’s a bit further out, or even worse when you get home somebody says did you see/do/find the …
It is a risk to go to the less well known places not knowing if your time and effort will be rewarded with something special or a few hours less in your day, a lighter wallet and a disappointed feeling, especially when time is limited and you are trying to get the best value for your money. One of the themes from this travel blog is to find some of those out of the way opportunities and highlight the best of them not only for visitors from other parts of the world, but also for Kiwis exploring their own backyard. Sometimes even for the locals who didn’t even know they could fill in a morning with something cool.
Last weekend we travelled to Rotorua, kids in tow looking for something to do. Heres a little adventure well worth the effort and one of the better value trips as well.
Waimangu Volcanic Valley – ‘The world’s youngest geothermal system’
About 20 mins by road South of Rotorua on the Old Taupo Road (links Rototua to Taupo). You turn left and wind your way back into some stunning New Zealand back country and regenerating Native forest (the area was totalled with the eruption of Tarawera). Don’t worry the trip is well worth it. Go for lunch in the cafe, get an ice block or coffee and see why this attraction is about to be a must see, especially for the new generation of eco tourists.
Be prepared, it is a self guided walking tour, but its either downhill or flat, with good wide metalled paths and a bus to bring you back to the top of the valley, or to transport you between stops on the way if you just want to do bits of the walk. Its good for kids and mature people. You can get up close with bubbling mud, steaming water, gysers, craters and everything in between. To finish off the trip if you bought the ferry ticket (well worth the extra) you can spend about 45 minutes out on lake Rotomohana being shown the worlds youngest geothermal system as well as visiting the locations of the famous Pink and White terraces.
We had a great day out, if we had known about the cafe we would have gone for lunch. The kids really enjoyed seeing things close up and the self guide booklet was rich in detail (and seems to be available in multiple languages). Numbered posts along the trail tie in to the numbering in the booklet to ensure you know where to look and what you are looking at, including plenty of history about the area.
This is a spectacular place do it at your own pace.
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