The Gorge, the Luge, the Geysers, the Volcanic Depression

Out of our little AirBnB by 10 and onto Route 2.  The first half of our (sort of) four hour journey was along the unbelievably scenic and often breathtaking view drive through Waioweka Gorge: a hilly, winding, and sometimes perilous route up to and along ridges, down into valleys, most following the snakelike Waioweka River.  The 100km/h road was littered with 35 km/h turns, with nary a viewpoint to pull off at, so what follows are several “action” shots SS snapped from the passenger seat as we decelerated at turns.

After a few hours we emerged at Opotiki, which lies on the top of the East Cape.  From here we turned inland towards Rotorua, our final NZ destination, for the Encounter Overland 40-year reunion.  It’s a lake district, not unlike the Shuswap, with small towns and many lakes, but in another way it’s like a city at the top of Mt. Baker.  Or Mt. Hood.  Or Mt. Rainier.  Or Mt. St. Helens.  Etc.

 

Rotorua [faint smell of sulphur] is an area teeming with geothermal activity.  Think of mud baths, spa pools, steam popping up through random crevices.  The city, and the lake of the same name it abuts, sit on the Rotorua Caldera, which is a fancy word for hole.

 

We stopped briefly for some lunch and supplies then drove into the resort complex late afternoon. Gemini Lodge: It’s a beautiful compound, three separate homes, each with four bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen and sitting room.  The acreage is spacious, with a pool and, for lack of a better term, a community room on the lakefront.

I’ll post separately on the group, with some pics past and present, 1985, 2025.  As for Friday night, we enjoyed an Indian buffet at one of the cabins, socialized, and called it a night around 10.

 

Saturday, after a group breakfast, we each went off to do our separate thing.  Rotorua is a major tourist hub with every sort of attraction you’d expect in a tourist hub.  In the morning, four of us took a gondola up a local mountain where there were zip lines, “swings” and a “luge” track which was essentially a non-motorized go-kart speeding downhill.  There were also hiking and mountain bike trails and whatnot.

In the afternoon Stephen took a long walk and I enjoyed the pool.  In the evening there was a group BBQ, leg of lamb, pork, sausages, various salads.  It was, as the Brits say, fancy dress, with a theme of Africa.  I came as a David Niven extra from The Best of Enemies, 1961, meaning I picked up a safari suit at a costume shop.  Stephen came as a visiting professor from the University of Nairobi, meaning he picked up an African shirt from a costume shop.  But some of the guests put in much more effort.