ROTORUA

Hi all!

This past weekend BU took our entire group to Rotorua and it was amazing! Rotorua is about 3 hours from Auckland and is one of the biggest tourist destinations in New Zealand. It was a really incredible trip and I hope I'm able to convey to you all how great Rotorua really is:

We left Friday morning at 9am on a bus and took off for Rotorua. We had lunch in the town of Rotorua and took in the amazing lake. Rotorua has 12 lakes around it. Then we took the gondola up and went LUGING for a couple hours! Luges is similar to go-karts but there is no motor or wheels. You are basically in something like a sled and it has a lever where you can control your speed and steer. It was a lot of fun! We got a five pass and there was a cool chair lift that took you up to the top again after each run. There were three different tracks: scenic, intermediate and advanced. I did all three but intermediate was by far my favorite. The view up there in general was just spectacular and it was a really nice time! After that we headed back on the bus to the supermarket and then went to Blue Lake Holiday Park where we stayed. We stayed in cabin rooms which were pretty nice, but did not have bathrooms in them. The Holiday Park was right on a lake (blue lake) which was really beautiful. For dinner we had a BBQ sponsored by BU which was great. It got pretty cold at night, but it was fine if you layered up. After dinner a bunch of us went on a night hike around the lake which was really amazing. At the other side of the lake there was a beach so we played a few games and races which was fun!

Saturday morning a bunch of us used the free kayaks and kayaked around the lake. It was really incredible and calm out there - a perfect way to start the day! We then all piled into the bus and went to see the mud pools. The mud pools were so awesome! They were way too hot to go in and slightly smelled but they were bubbling up and it was really cool. Then we went to Waiotapu geothermal wonderland. This place was so awesome!! Wai-o-tapu literally means "sacred waters" and after seeing all of the amazing geothermal formations there I totally believe it. Rotorua is known for it's geothermal activity (and is the reason why there is a smell surrounding it) and this place totally showed why Rotorua is famous for it. There were SO many different geothermal pools there it was amazing! The variety of the craters, colors and waters was insane, especially in such a close area!! From the champagne pool to the brilliant green pools it was truly amazing. All of them were bubbling and steam was rising - it was just so cool! It truly was a geothermal "wonderland." After that we went to Lake Rerewhakaaitu for lunch which was pretty. Then we were picked up for our Mt Tarawera 4WD/hike tour! We were picked up by a tour company in a few four wheel drive vans and driven to the top of a volcano. We then got out and hiked around the volcano and had such incredible views! Then we ran down the crater which was CRAZY and so much fun!! Then we hiked through the center of the crater and back up the top. It was a really awesome trip! Then we went back in the vans to get to our bus which took us to the hot pools! It was basically a river which is where a hot spring intersects with the cold river so you could move around until you found a good temperature - it was so nice especially after the 1.5 hike! Then we went back, had another BBQ, played some cards and went to sleep!

Sunday we packed up all of our stuff, hopped on the bus and went White Water Rafting on the Kaituna river! This was really incredible!!! We were split up into 2 groups and I was in the group that got to go rafting first! We were put into 4 boats (each with 6 people) and had a guide. After putting on wet suits, we all sat in our boats. I thought I was in the last row, but our guide made us turn around and I was in the front! I was pretty scared but ended up having a blast! After we went over the basics, we were off into the river! As the person in the front, I had to set the pace for how the rest of the boat was rowing - it was hard work but good! We first went over a 3 meter drop and then a 1 meter drop which was a lot of fun and dominated a lot of rapids. Our guide was kind of crazy and made us keep paddling back into the rapids, but it was really great! Then we went over a 7 meter waterfall which is the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the WORLD!! It was SO much fun!!! After the waterfall we had some more little drops and rapids. At the end our guide brought us to this rapids and had us stick our faces in it which was cool! By the end we were all soaked but so happy! It was a really incredible experience. After we got back the second group went. After quickly drying off, we were able to walk along the Okere Falls walk and watch them go down the river. It was so cool watching them do what we had just done and to see rafts actually going off the 7 meter waterfall! Once the second group got back we headed back on the bus. An hour into the drive we stopped in Matamata for lunch which is the home of Hobbiton from Lord of the Rings. They took down the whole set, but it's still pretty cool that Hobbiton was filmed there. I got some good pancakes and we headed back on the bus for Auckland.

It was a truly incredible weekend and I had so much fun! While the photos do not accurately portray the beauty of Rotorua, here is the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/LSOL817/Rotorua02?feat=directlink
The whole program bought a disc of the photos from white water rafting. I haven't gotten the disc yet but once I do I will upload all of those for you to view too!

Sending love from the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world!!