So we left the smelly town of
Rotorua, and not too soon, the stench was getting too much for both of us, and headed south to
Tapuo. We were looking forward to going to this town as there seemed to be loads of walking type stuff to do, being locked up in the car makes you crave a long hike, and then a
McDonald's.
On our way there we stopped of at what seemed like a farmers field but what was
actually a thermal pool open for free to the public and well off the beaten track. That is one thing about being on such a budget here, as all of our dwindling money is going on petrol, you have to search hard for the free stuff to do to make up for the fact that you can't go to any tourist places as they charge and invariably you come across so real gems that you wouldn't have given the time of day to if you had more money in your pocket.
This thermal pool ( called Butchers pool) was just that, a guy, a long time ago called Mr Butcher
bought 4000 acre of land and it turns out that a geothermal spring was in one of the fields. The
Butcher family used the spring to bathe in and later in life the family
bequeathed it to the NZ people. The pool was turned into a formal bath, as in it has four wooden sides and a small changing room. Other than that it is very
natural with cows looking down on you.
Tim got in, me being prudish, and having a general hatred of being wet, i love the water, just hate the feeling when you get out of the pool and you are there, sopping, uncomfortable and cold. I think it stems from the out door pool at school, having to change in a breeze block changing room with holes for windows in the
British summer. I can't bear the thought of it now so didn't get in. I savoured the heat drifting off the water mind. Lovely.
The pool was of an iron disposition not sulphur like in
Rotorua so it
didn't smell. There were a couple of others enjoying the heat but all locals. It sounds like tourists don't really go there but the locals all use it.
After Tim's dip we continued on into town and found a good spot to park overnight on the way. The town was touristy, had a huge lake, and is surrounded by active volcanoes. There was also a good
paid for shower facility that we made great use of!. We planned that the next day we would go on a walk of the local waterfalls and to a place called craters of the moon which was an area full of geothermal activity.
The next morning we woke to heavy drops of rain and a very strong icy wind which put paid to all of our plans. We sat shivering in the van looking through our
lonely planet for stuff that was inside to do, but this is an outdoorsy town so choices were limited to one. A place called the Beehive, free i might add which was imperative, it is a trumped up honey shop with a beehive inside but it sounded warm so off we went.
We managed to hang around in that honey shop for two hours, looking at a beehive and watching a video on beehives as well as sampling the free honey. It is amazing what you do when you are
beginning to get truly desperate, especially when i hate honey. Always have, always will.
We spent a few more hours holed up shivering in the van under the duvet reading and then drove into town and sat in the backpackers lodge's bar for a drink and for the heat. A rugby match was on that night so we sat and watched the first half, nursing our one drink of the evening trying to ignore each draft that blew our way.
When it was time to go we hopped back into the van and flicked on the radio. The news came on just as we parked up for the night and the main headline was that the road between Napier and
Tapuo was closed due to the
worst snow storm that NZ has seen in 25 years. Great we
thought, that is where we wanted to go next. The rain still bashing the van we went to sleep.
The next morning the rain had finally stopped but it was bloody freezing. We put on the radio to find that the Napier road was still firmly shut with people trapped over night in their cars. The woman in the honey shop mentioned snow to me the
previous day and i didn't pay much attention, too distracted by the packets of fudge between us, i wish i had now.
Also the next item on the news popped up that a gunman was on the loose. Oh yes a gunman. They found a body in his car and he had gone on a rampage through the countryside.
Lovely. So off we went to the tourist info place, like everyone else, to see what was up. Turns out that during the night we were all trapped in
Tapuo due to the weather. All the roads were closed. Now just the Napier road was shut, great. Oh yeah, and the road to Wellington was shut too, because of the mad gunman. We were stuck.
We went to the waterfalls, but didn't do the walk as the temperatures were so low you'd get
hyperthermic quite fast, and then we did a blistering hour at the craters of the moon looking at the bubbling mud and steam craters which was hardcore but worth it. After that we though sod this we are getting out of here and attempted to get out of town...
