Before we set out for the day, we walked around the property of our hotel. They have decorated it with various pieces of interesting modern art, and some cages of parrots. One of the art pieces is a big pink bunny rear sticking out of the ground. It's a quirky, but elegant little place (12 rooms) with superb service. The concierge carried our bags up to our room (there's no elevator).
We went for a different kind of forest walk this morning. Instead of walking on the forest floor, we were high above it among redwoods, on suspended bridges and platforms that have been designed to protect the trees. The trees themselves are about 250 feet tall, and 150 years old. Redwoods were introduced to New Zealand around 1901 in Rotorua as a government-led experiment to test the viability of fast-growing, high-quality exotic timber species. They were planted to replace rapidly depleted native forests and to assess their suitability for commercial forestry. Due to the rich soil, favorable climate, and high rainfall, the trees grew faster in NZ than in their native California, reaching heights of 230 feet in just 100 years.
We thought it interesting that NZ and California are equidistant from the equator, one north , one south, and both provide favorable growing conditions for these trees. We enjoyed reading the information provided on the walk about these trees and the construction of the cabling. Great care was taken to protect the trees.
I was surprised that they did not take care to highlight the difference between redwoods and giant sequoias, seeming to equate the 2 species. Redwoods are taller and thinner and grow on the coast. Sequoia are massive and grow at high elevations. They had a display showing information and a giant sequoia slice without mentioning and difference between the 2 species. At any rate, it was a cool experience.
We then headed south to the thermal area called Wai o Tapu. As we discovered, it's a micro-Yellowstone thermal display. They have bubbling pools, fumaroles, boiling water bubbling out of the earth and more, on a 1/10th scale to Yellowstone. Having been to Yellowstone several times, we enjoyed the walk, but were less than impressed.
By late afternoon, we drove back to Rotorua and checked out the restaurant scene there. There is a street called Eat Street lined with restaurants. Near there, we chose a little cafe for dinner. What a find-- the food was fresh, locally sourced (although I suppose they all are out of necessity), and delicious.
Pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LZiLvyGncH71P8V8w5
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