The centerpiece of the reserve is a Geyser Flat, a silica terrace of about two acres that makes you wonder whether you have unwittingly stepped off the face of the earth and on to a distant planet.
The terrace is pierced by seven active geysers. First there’s the Prince of Wales Feathers which heralds the awakening of Pohutu. Pohutu itself is New Zealand’s largest geyser and plays to about 100 feet and can go on for hours at a time.

The reserve also includes a series of boiling mud pools which plop an endless series of intriguing patterns.
Rotorua is dotted with these bubbling mud pools all in and around the city. Some are public thermal swimming pools, others are private. Even the hotels nearby provide pools where one can enjoy the hot springs in private luxury.

However, our hot favorite was the Polynesian Pools at the end of Hinemoa Street, adjourning the famous Government Gardens. These pools are open daily. There are three springs in this facility. One is the Old Priest Bath: believed to be beneficial for functional nervous diseases, arthritic complaints such as gout and rheumatism, fibrosis and nervous disability. Then there is Rachel Spring that contains an alkaline sulfurated water which is a skin emollient and acts as a soothing sedative valuable in cases of sunburn, convalescence and spastic ailments. Lastly, Radium Spring has stimulating properties for cases of neurasthenia and rheumatic ailments. Despite these medicinal benefits most visitors just like us, simply go to enjoy a good hot soak. However, one thing we discovered, once you’ve experienced the balmy medicinal springs, the “Soir de Rotorua� connotes merely a very therapeutic feeling. There is no doubt that after a short spell in the city one’s consciousness of the smell almost disappears.

View the images posted in conjunction with this blog to get the full flavor of Rotorua and New Zealand.