Midsemester break day 1 - hot springs and sulphur in Rotorua

After two weeks of intense working @ school, the midsemester break is finally here. Jorgen, Magnus, Mari & me have hired a car (Toyota Rav 4) and will be strolling around the northern island for a whole week. Our first stop is Rotorua (www.rotoruanz.com/home.asp), where we will stay until Tuesday. Jorgen, with his excellent driving, took us from Auckland to Rotorua in just 4 hours and 1 flat battery. We're staying at a backpacker hostel called Planet Nomad, which is quite cheap and almost charming.

From the moment you enter Rotorua, you know you are somewhere like nowhere else. Lazy drifts of steam are emitted from cracks, crevices and culverts in parks, gardens, pathways and even residential streets. These constant steam drifts, together with the distinctive scent of sulphur, let you know you are in Rotorua, New Zealand - the centre of an active thermal area. On Sunday, we went to Wai-O-Tapu , a "termal wonderland". It was quite a fascinating sight - unlike anything I've seen before.

Of course, our Toyota Rav 4 went down with a flat battery on the way to Rotorua. Q: How many male "indokere" do you need to fix a car?

Jorgen finally got to visit his best friend

Mari in front of some rather unpleasant hot sulphur springs

Jorgen was in for a sulphur spa bath, but got second thougths as he saw the water

Christian in front of "Devil's Bath" - a water pit with boiling supersulphurious water

...and in front of the "Lady Knox" geysir

Three white guys enjoying a bath in a well-hidden hot spring we came across near Lake Taupo

...life was gooooood during the midsemester break