Roto-Vegas baby!

I had 2 whole days off!!!!
 I was so excited!!!
 I decided to drive north an hour and explore Rotorua. I'd been there before but hadn't seen much of the place. Like most places in NZ it's stunning and there's heaps of stuff to do and it all costs a lot of money. So I did the budget version of Rotorua.
I started with a hike up Rainbow Mt. It's named that for the different colors of the soil and its another geothermal site.

Pretty and sweltering hike up Rainbow Mtn. I love hiking in NZ!

Rainbow Mtn soil......meh. Not quite as colorful as the name implied...

It was  a nice hike, just a few hours, with a great 360* view from the top. I could see the Tongoriro mts, the Taupo geysers, and the lakes of Rotorua from the top.

Such a HOT hike! But fun! On top of rainbow mtn with the central plateau and Taupo behind me.

The lakes near Rotorua - so nice looking. I just had to go and see them!

Next stop was Hobbiton!
I couldn't leave NZ without visiting the Shire.
It was much better than I thought it would be. I was kinda expecting a tourist trap, but it really wasn't.  I ended up really enjoying the tour and I was able to have a beer in the newly opened Green Dragon Tavern. Check that off the bucket list!
But that deserves its own post, so....
I watched the sunset at lake Okareka.

So many lakes! Where is my damn fishing pole?!?!?

 Then I stayed the night at the holiday park, but not before I revisited Brew. To have their amazing Galaxy IPA. The one and only REAL IPA in this country. Mmmmmmmm. Once it hits your lips.....

Sunrise

Lake Rotorua and the planes

Sunrise at Queens park

I woke up early to my car/house shaking to some small earthquakes and took advantage of my natural alarm clock by hanging at lake Rotorua for the sunrise.
Then I drove to a couple of the nearby lakes.

Lookout on Lake Tarawera

Cove at Lake Tarawera

First stop, Lake Tarawera. It was huge and warm and I spent the morning lying around in the sun and testing out its warm waters.

Shoreside, Lake Tarawera

Lake Tarawera cove

Then it was onto lake Tikitapu, or Blue Lake, for another short hike and some downtime along its shore.

Short hike along Blue Lake

Chilling on the shores of Blue Lake

There was so much to do in Rotorua! I guess thats why it's nicknamed Roto-vegas, its supposed to be a big party town. There's also zorbing, rafting, biking, skydiving, you name it! but it all costs money....
So I settled on another (free) and short, hike to Okere Falls which was beautiful.

 

Okere Falls 

And I saw people rafting, kayaking and sledging the river.

Kayakers at Okere Falls

Sledging looks awesome. Basically you put on a wetsuit and helmet. Then grab a boogie board and ride down the river. I decided I will definitely be going back to Okere falls and ride down that river, one way or another.

I had to add this, the punch line is that Rotorua smells like sulphur. You can never go wrong with a fart joke.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGn-Oy5effA