Day 5

*The morning in Rotorua was leisurely; we cut out the physical activity part of the day for fear of being overcome with sulphur gases. We ate breakfast at a lovely little café and made our way to the Rotorua Museum of Art & History, better known as the Bath House. Walking through the museum, we learned that the Bath House was constructed in 1908 as an elegant spa retreat for rehabilitation of soldiers as they returned from WWI. We toured through the remaining spa rooms and watched an interactive movie on the eruption of Mt. Tarawera in 1886, which included a simulated quake.

*We made our way out of Rotorua and headed northeast to the coast. The drive was scenic, and we got to see what lies on the other side of the Kaimai range we enjoy daily from Te Aroha. The roads were extremely winding, but Jess kept it between the lines and Margaret repressed her need to vomit. We reached our destination of Hahei just in time to discover that everything in and around town would be closed given that it was Monday. Luckily we made it to the grocery just in time to gather up some impromptu dinner supplies. We also were able to fit in a hike down to Cathedral Cove and walked through the gigantic arched cavern just as the sun was setting. We tried to imagine what it must have been like to be an explorer finding the island for the first time.

*We found lodging at the Hahei Holiday Resort (a spiffy name for a caravan/tent park) and put together an impressive dinner (including a bottle of wine). In the evening, far past our new found bedtime, we drove a few kilometers down the road to Hot Water Beach with a spade and shovel in hand. Hot Water Beach is famous for its thermal waters that lie just beneath the sand. Our goal was to dig out a pool for ourselves, but our efforts were defeated as the tide did not cooperate and the beach was too steep. We were successful in digging ourselves a pool to dip our ankles in and boy was that water – HOT!!