BOOKMARK
	PACIFIC & ASIAN     February - March 2004  Volume 4 Edition 1

 

 

The place is Rotorua, the “r”s softly pronounced reflecting the fact that this is a Maori place. While there is a lot to do here, the first order of business, even before arriving in New Zealand, was to book a spa appointment.
The choices were daunting. Every spa had a different approach, the luxury, the healing waters, the Maori cultural component. It’s often hard to make this type of decision over the Internet, but I went with my inclination to aim for something closer to nature and what seemed, despite its name, less commercial.

I chose well. Hell’s Gate is thermal reserve and was known to the Maori 700 years ago for the healing properties of its waters. The somewhat dramatic name is attributed to George Bernard Shaw – he described it as “hell-like”.

The self-guided tour takes about an hour and solicitous staff members offer an umbrella to shield me from the sun, even though it is not a terribly hot day, at less than 25C.

Approaching the Devil’s Bath, I start to realize that the heat from the sun is only one of the elements to confront. At six metres in depth and 95C, this is one of the shallower and cooler features of the park.

I am quickly appreciating the accuracy of Shaw’s descriptor and even wonder at one point if there will be another chance to grab an umbrella.

While there is no danger of my ignoring the ubiquitous signs imploring me not to leave the marked paths, I shudder at the thought of walking through the park with a fearless twelve year old.

Each thermal feature has a compelling name and description, from the Hurutini pool (named after a Maori princess who threw herself in to escape her life with an abusive husband) to the sulphur crystals, deposits that gradually grow with the deposit of sulfur from cooling steam.

This is another world, defined by the area where nothing grows; there are no bird songs here, only gurgling and bubbling noises coming from the earth.

The walk is a perfect prelude to my spa experience. The thermal reserve has been attracting tourists for decades, but the Waiora spa is a new addition to the attraction.

It’s a spa experience to remember, with a private mud bath (in a lovely area open to the sky, but separated from other patrons by thick 8 foot high grass walls), followed by a soak in the sulfur spas and a traditional Maori massage.

It’s the type of thing to turn a spa neophyte into a believer. For the experienced, it will make other spa experiences seem somehow artificial and commercial. While most spas let you forget time, Waiora allows you to forget everything, to completely relax and experience serenity.

As the spa side of the business has been open for less than a year,
the spa was not packed – but then, I was there on a weekday before high season as well.

 

Be sure to book well in advance, before you arrive in New Zealand – that way you have something to look forward to after that long flight.

If your Waiora experience is at the end of the day, don’t plan on doing much that evening, except getting a great night’s sleep. If, however, you are on a tight schedule and need to do some sightseeing, stop in at the Rotorua Museum café for a jolt of java.

The Museum is impossible to miss – it is housed in the beautifully restored Edwardian Bath house, overlooking the Government Gardens (the local lawn bowling and cricket clubs do a marvelous job of manicuring the lawns).

The building is described as the country’s most photographed building.
New Zealand boasts a lot of “most photographed” spots – I am not sure how they track this, but admit that I did somehow feel compelled to take a lot of shots.

The museum tells the story of a man who dreamt of a bathhouse as the central tourist attraction of a spa town in the tradition of the middle European spas.

Dr. Wohlmann believed that people would travel form all over the world to take the “cure”. He was so convincing that the New Zealand government underwrote the cost of construction.

The healing waters of Rotorua were combined with the latest in spa therapy (mild electrical currents in tubs, that sort of thing…) to bring solace to tourists and First World War veterans alike.

An excellent photographic record brings into sharp focus the lives of the people who came here so long ago.

After sitting for decades in disrepair, the building’s restoration has been gradual, with new sections of the former baths being opened as they are ready. The museum film is definitely worth the time, offering a good introduction to the area and its short but remarkable written history.

Life in Rotorua is inextricably linked with nature and geology. The scientists monitor the water temperature of Lake Rotorua as an indicator of seismic activity (it’s been rising) – while a shift in the wind brings things into clearer perspective – the smell of sulfur and steam spouting all around give the visitor the feeling that things are less than stable. It’s not something that troubles the locals though, they just go about their lives.

Aside from geology and the bath house history, the museum has an excellent Maori history section, small but worth a visit. This is the type of museum you can imagine school children loving, lots of variety, lots of excitement, and manageable in a relatively short visit.

When it’s time for dinner, Rotorua offers plenty of choices. If you are on a budget, little Korean and Japanese restaurants abound. For a more elegant meal, try Bistro 1284, where staff members are relaxed but efficient.

The night I was there the tables outside turned out to be a traveler’s delight – we had people from Israel, Australia, England and Canada string along the front of the restaurant exchanging tales and asking advice of the motel owners from Auckland (the closest thing to locals). There is a decent list of wines by the glass, specials and the regular menu will not disappoint. It’s pricey by Rotorua standards, but great value.

Gael Arthur

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FACT FILE
http://www.hellsgate.co.nz
http://www.rotoruamuseum.co.nz
http://www.bistro1284.co.nz