Wednesday dawned cold and damp. It was a shock to the system for the Queenslanders to feel the nip in the air, and that combined with the late night and the timezone differences (3 hrs) lead to a slow start.
Unfortunately our confused bodies thought otherwise and hunger pangs drove us back to the motel for traditional NZ 'Fush & Chups'.
Along with the steam comes the smell of sulphar that hangs over the entire town - apparently you get used to it. Although it takes your breath away at first
All this water is at 60 - 70 degrees - hot to the touch, and also used extensively in the town for the many spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, saunas, steam ovens, etc etc etc. It also leads to some barren semi-volcanic areas with bubbling pools of near boiling water spitting scalding mud separated from the recommended path by a sturdy line of rocks
Rotorua also has a proud Mauri history - this is a traditional meeting hall by the lake covered in amazing carvings
After the Tiki ride we had a quick shower and then headed back into town to register for the race, grab something to eat and check our our race (or party animal) swag
After this the night carried on in a fine style. We ended up in a club with an incredibly exotic pile of bikes in the back room 
As you can tell from the lack of gears, the club was mainly full of americans with novelty facial hair. It was a fun night, best summed up by the pictures of a tree I felt inspired to take at (checks timeon photo) around 1am 
We managed to make it out to the trails in the late morning - it was beautiful out there. The forests are farmed redwood trees which drop pine needles onto the ground which form a lovely tacky slightly springy surface. Perfect for sculpted bumps & berm-laden trails that undulate along the hillsides on trails verged with silver ferns between stately towering trees . It's a surface that makes you want to ride faster, to corner more, to keep going.
Unfortunately our confused bodies thought otherwise and hunger pangs drove us back to the motel for traditional NZ 'Fush & Chups'.
After lunch we headed into Rotorua for a 'Tiki Tour'. This was a freebie laid on by the organisers to show us the sights (and smells) of the town. For those that don't know, Rotorua sits above a highly active geothermal area which pushes hot water out into lakes, streams and craters all over the town 
Along with the steam comes the smell of sulphar that hangs over the entire town - apparently you get used to it. Although it takes your breath away at first
All this water is at 60 - 70 degrees - hot to the touch, and also used extensively in the town for the many spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, saunas, steam ovens, etc etc etc. It also leads to some barren semi-volcanic areas with bubbling pools of near boiling water spitting scalding mud separated from the recommended path by a sturdy line of rocksRotorua also has a proud Mauri history - this is a traditional meeting hall by the lake covered in amazing carvings
After this the night carried on in a fine style. We ended up in a club with an incredibly exotic pile of bikes in the back room As you can tell from the lack of gears, the club was mainly full of americans with novelty facial hair. It was a fun night, best summed up by the pictures of a tree I felt inspired to take at (checks timeon photo) around 1am 
I need more!!
ReplyDelete