Victoria

In South America San Martin remains the most celebrated human ever, with numerous statues, buildings and boulevard’s  named in his honor.

Here in New Zealand,  it is Queen Victoria. Statues of her stand in prominent places just aboot everywhere.

Victoria

 Every town has at least one Victoria street, and here in Rotorua there are two Victoria Lodges. We are staying at the better one, on Victoria street and have our own thermal pool just out our bathroom window.

It sounds strange but is quite a nice arrangement. The six rooms share back and side walls and just out each bathroom window sits a high walled thermal pool that you fill and set the temperature with the hot and cold valves on the wall. It’s completely private unless a bird passes by and looks in.

 

The town and lake Rotorua sit on a collapsed volcanic caldera that according to geological evidence last erupted around 200,000 years ago, and why despite solid evidence to the contrary do flat earthers like our own newly appointed HUD director ben carson persist in the myth that the planet is only 5000 years old?  I guess ben is just another stellar example of how far backwards amerika is going.

Riding around Rotorua on peddle bikes was a great way to get out and see the numerous thermal areas that surround the lake.

Very Hot Thermal Pool

The town is quite bicycle friendly with plenty of places to lock up your ride, pathways along the sidewalks on most of the main street are marked with bike lanes, but watch out for the cars as for some weird reason cars have the right of way over pedestrians and peddle bikes, and the nicest people on the planet can be quite aggressive even if you are crossing in the zebra.

Local Bike Rack

No New Zealand trip to the thermals would be complete without a trip to an actual geyser and today we motored the 20 or so kilometers up the road to Wal-O-Tapu “Thermal Wonderland”

I knew a little about geysers but I did not know that by tossing soap powder into the thing it could induce an eruption, but that is just exactly what happens daily, at 10:30 at the Lady Knox geyser.

Lady Knox