Rotorua, A Trip on Christmas

Rotorua is well known for its tourism activity. If you come to Rotorua, you shouldn't be bored as there're many attractions and places you can visit. Together with two friends, I went to visit Rotorua on the day leaving Te Puke on Christmas and we spent a few days there. Same as Te Puke, Rotorua is sited in the Bay of Plenty region too.

There’re a number of remarkable buildings sited in the heart of Rotorua, Rotorua I-Site Visitor Centre, Old Post Office and The Bath House (Rotorua Museum of Art and History) to name a few. They’re some of the great sites for photography.

I-Site Information Centre

Old Post Offcice
  

Museum of Art & History

Situated at Queens Drive, the Museum of Art and History was built with its astonishing garden landscape, the Government Gardens. The urban park is closed to the lakeshore and it offers thousands of flowers and plants for visitors to enjoy.

The city is surrounded with many lakes that formed the Lakes of Rotorua. Other than sightseeing the historic buildings and gardens, we visited the lakefront too on one evening. It’s definitely a destination for an eco-walk. Try to keep quiet for the time being and you’ll be astounded by the atmosphere and the sounds created by the nature.

Rotorua is distinctive with its geothermal nature, such as the hot thermal springs and mud pools. So it's a place worth your attention while you're here. You could visit free at the informal Kuirau Park which is next to the city centre. The park enables you to see the bubbling geothermal pools, steaming lakes and some garden areas. You’ll  find the ‘rotten eggs’ odour around the area due to the release of hydrogen sulphide.

A steaming lake

Most of the active geothermal areas were fenced for visitors safety 

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A small bubbling geothermal pool

The water of the pool is bubbling and extremely hot 

A small mud pool

A mud pool was bubbling & steaming 

Kuirau Park

Location: Ranolf Street, Rotorua 3201.

We had witnessed a great influence of Maori culture in the Ohinemutu Village. The Maori village was an important hub in the past but now it becomes one of the suburbs of Rotorua city.  



Panorama at the village with lake and mountain background 

The cementary area in the village

The peaceful cementary area

From the village, the Maori arts can be viewed through the details of the architecture and the most prominent building is the Maori Meeting House.

Maori Meeting House

The interior of meeting house was designed with intricate carving and shiny paua shells. Today, the building is still important to the local Maori community.

 

Besides the public settings, we also paid a visit to some charged tours such as the Agrodome, Rainbow Spring and Tamaki Maori Village. I’ll share them on my coming posts, so stay tune!

Half Day Sightseeing in Wellington

One of the best ways to explore a city or place is by walking. Holding the city map on hands, May and I managed to visit some interesting places on the day. I was accustomed to do a little bit of research every time before I headed to a new place and also visited the local I-site. All the time I could get details map and information about the local tourism from there.

A tour in Wellington which you might be interesting is the Open House, it's the Parliament Experience. There are 3 historical buildings for you to explore: Parliament House, the Parliamentary Library and the Executive Wing which looks like a beehive. These buildings are close to each other and located in the heart of Wellington. There are gardens, statues, architecture...for you to sightsee. During the visit, a speaker of the House of Representative will guide the tour and provide the details of the buildings. If you are not that attracted by the tour, then you might fall asleep as it takes up to an hour. The good thing is there's no admission charge. However, you should check for the tour sessions prior visit. www.parliament.nz

The Beehive

Parliament House

Parliamentary Library

One of the well known attractions in Wellington that I highly recommend you to visit is the Museum of New Zealand named Te Papa, situated at Cable Street. Te Papa, in Maori language, means 'The Earth'. I know the word 'museum' may sound boring to some of you, but this one is somewhat different and more exciting. I'm sure you'll find something inside the large building that catch your eyes. How much is the entrance fee? It's free! :D www.tepapa.govt.nz

New Zealand's National Museum - Te Papa

There are about 20 galleries inside the museum and many collabrative displays for you to explore including the land, ocean & wildlife.

I have learn something about the ethos of Maori...

Te Hono ki Hawaiki(The link back to Hawaiki)

Heke(The rafters - the ribs of the ancestor)

Feature above: Tekoteko(Carved figure standing at the apex
of the badge boards)
Feature below: Koruru(The image of the ancestor's head)

Poupou(The carved figures representing the ancestor's various descendants)

Tukutuku(Decorative woven panels)

Some other displays of Maori culture...

Ahhh...Golden Days! I personally love it so much! I was brought back to the old days in the mini cinema, surprised by those moving features.

After the visit to Te Papa, we had a short walk to the harbour and took few more pictures before we got back to the hostel.