Rotorua

Our day began with airports and planes, as we left Queenstown for Christchurch (a short flight on a twin turboprop) and then immediately from Christchurch to Rotorua on the North Island. Flying here on domestic flights is easy — no security, no getting rid of water bottles, just get on the plane. We were in Rotorua by noon.

This is volcano country, and the landscape is dotted with hot springs. It is very much like the Yellowstone area in the U.S. As we landed at Rotorua, we could smell the sulfer in the air.

First stop was the Redwood Memorial Grove. In 1901, some California redwood seedlings were planted here as an experiment. It has been shown that they grow taller and faster here than in California. In only 120 years (a short span for redwoods), many are more than 100 feet tall.

The native ferns thrive in the shade of the redwoods, as well, making for a very unique forest setting. We had a great walk through the trees and beside an amazingly clear hot spring pond.

After our walk, we drove to the city center or Rotorua and took in Eat Street. This is sort of like a mall food court, but instead of being in a mall, it is a partially enclosed, pedestrian only street in downtown.

There were all sorts of restaurants, but since we had had a big breakfast, and knew that we would be having a big dinner later, we only snacked. We used the extra time to walk around the town a bit. It was pretty quiet on a Sunday afternoon.

Next stop was the National Kiwi Hatchery at Rainbow Springs National Park. The Kiwi, of course, is the national bird of New Zealand. It is also an endangered species. This facility helps them increase their numbers by reducing the Kiwi infant mortality rate.

Before humans arrive on these islands, roughly a thousand years ago, there were no preditors — in fact, no mammals at all except for a few small fruit bats. Birds like the Kiwi evolved to be flightless, and to feed and nest on the ground. Humans are preditors themselves, and also brought animals such as dogs, rats, possums, weasels, etc. In the wild, newly hatched Kiwi chicks have only a 5% survival rate.

The Hatchery sends naturalists with trained dogs into wilderness areas across the country to find and gather Kiwi eggs. The eggs are incubated artificially, then the hatchlings are raised in the protected environment until they are a little over 2 pounds in weight. At this point, they are large enough to defend themselves and can be returned to the wild.

We got to see a one day old hatchling, and also got to see the oldest Kiwi in captivity — a female approximately 40 years old. Unfortunately, photos of the live Kiwis are not permitted, so we had to be content with the taxidermy Kiwis.

Back on the bus after this fascinating experience, we drove south to the town of Taupo, which is on the north shore of Lake Torpo, the largest lake (by surface area) in New Zealand. Located almost at the dead center of the North Island, Lake Taupo is the caldera of a dormant volcano. It is much shallower and much warmer than Lake Wakatipu, on the South Island, where we have just come from. The topography of the land here is much different, as well.

We arrived at our hotel about 4 p.m., and we were surprised (and a bit disappointed) to discover that, while the Hilton is very nice, it is at least a 20 minute walk to the lake. That walk is also almost all downhill — which means a steep uphill climb coming back. Not an ideal location.

We had some time to check in, unpack, and get acquaited with the place before meeting for dinner around 6 p.m. The coach drove us into the central business district, more like a 20 drive. The meal was good, but it is distressing that the town is so far away.

After dinner we returned to the hotel, where we changed clothes and took in the sunset. Then we took the walk down the hill to the lake, where the last light of the day was on the horizon. It was very pretty, but we then had to do the up hill in the dark. After that climb, on a warm evening, we both needed showers before bed.