Onto Rotorua

Today we drove to Rotorua stopping at an old mining operation and going through some caves. The walk was cool and I got some neat pictures. We also stopped in "Hobitton" from the Lord of Rings and I got a picture with an odd looking Gollum statue.



Rotorua is an interesting place. It is supposedly the part of the earth where the crust is the thinnest which means there are lots of places where steam is just coming out of the ground. In addition to this they have a lot of natural hot springs and thermal mud pools. There was an option to do a cultural night with a Maori tribe but I had to pass as I am saving my money for Waitomo Caves.



I am staying at the YHA in Rotorua tonight and it is definitely one of the nicest hostels I have stayed at in NZ. In other news I met my first Austrian today.