Rotorua, in the North Island, is my favorite hot spot in New Zealand. What attracts visitors in hordes to Rotorua are its towering geysers, bubbling mud and kaleidoscopic silica terraces. Even as you step into town there is a lingering aroma of sulfur in the air. “Soir de Rotorua� as it is affectionately referred to by those in the know, is the natural gas emitted by the mineral hot springs.

Rotorua has been voted the Most Beautiful City in New Zealand in 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003. Its striking gardens, cobbled streets, the fascinating intermingling of Maori and English Tudor architecture gives Rotorua quite a unique ambience.

Rotoruans have come to terms with the mixed blessings of the thermal activity in their backyards. Many have bores and private swimming pools. In Industry the steam is used in timber kilns to render fat, to steam-clean vehicles, to heat glasshouses and to ripen fruit. Nevertheless, it has its downsides as well. It frequently wafts from drains, drives high the upkeep of roads and occasionally causes structural damages as well. In some churchyards, the graves are raised above the ground and on occasion golfers encounter less customary hazards such as pools of boiling mud.

Beyond Rotorua’s urban centre is a backdrop of volcanic mountains and huge crater lakes. Perhaps the best known of the thermal areas is Whakarewarewa. It is closest to Rotorua City. The path to Whakarewarewa Maori village leads across a small bridge. Here’s where the subtribe that survived the Tarawera eruption now live demonstrating how they use the hot pools for cooking, washing, heating. processing flax in a living village environment. Here is where you can sample a midday thermal Hangi meal.

A carved Maori meeting house or pa comes into view just as you enter Whakarewarewa. By the pa is the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute where carvers may be seen at work. Wood, bone and jade carvings are made here and sold as souveniers. You can also see flax weaving demonstrations, and the making of weaponry and musical instruments by native craftsman.

More tomorrow...