Rotorua is the most visited tourist spot in New Zealand. It gets around 3 million tourists a year; basically every tourist comes here at some point in their trip. We are no exception. Rotorua is famous for two things - geothermal features and Mauri culture. The Mauri in the Rotorua area were able to keep much of their land, and therefore these tribes are much wealthier than most others. We talked to a Mauri man, Paki, in the west, who claimed that the Rotorua tribes sold out the western tribes by helping the colonists and preventing other tribes from helping the west tribes when the white men took their land. Paki's tribe lost all their fertile land near Auckland, and he now works as a farm hand on the land his ancestors once owned. He acknowledged, however, that had the Rotorua tribes not done what they did they would have liste all their land, too, as the Mauri had no chance against the settlers.
Wai-O-Tapu is one of several geothermal parks with many unique features, most notably the Champagne Pool.
Devil's Home.
Rainbow Crater.
Devil's ink pots.
Artist's palette.
Opal pool.
Bridal Falls.
Oyster Pool.
Sulfur cave.
Lake Ngakoro and Mount Tauhara in the background.
Silica terraces.
Champagne Pool.
Champagne Pool close up.
The Champagne Pool is about 250 meters deep. That far down the water is boiling.
Bird's Nest Crater - birds build their nests along the walls because the stream keeps their eggs warm.
Devil's bath.
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