After a good night's rest, we woke up and headed down to Kitchen for breakfast, checked out of the hotel and made our way to Rotorua. The variety wasn't huge but the food was really good. I had french toast with bacon and bananas drizzled with lots of maple syrup.
We headed to the airport and took a 40 minutes flight to Rotorua.
We headed to the airport and took a 40 minutes flight to Rotorua.
(alternatively you can choose to drive there. It takes 3.5hours to get there from Auckland)
Rotorua is a city in the heart of the North Island, just 230kilometer away form Auckland.
In Rotorua, thermal activity is the main tourist appeal. Our tour arrives at "Hell's Gate" in the midday. The unique geothermal mud and waters of Rotorua are well known for their invigorating and curative properties. Hell's gate is really near the airport and
We skipped exploring the place and slipped right into a geothermal mud bath which was like "playing in silk" and next we went for the sulphur spa and ended our trip with a traditional Wai Ora relaxation message based on the techniques of Miri Miri. After being pampered like queens and kings, we then headed to our hotel.
We stayed at the Solitaire Lodge, a 5 star boutique luxury accommodation. The lodge is set on a private peninsular overlooking lake Tarawera and they only offer ten luxurious suites. This place gives the impression of a holiday home more than a hotel but with exceptional individualized service that isn't too intrusive.
Privacy, peace and quiet, and relaxation are paramount here.
I stayed in the Tarawera Suite. My room has panoramic view of the tranquil lagoon and across it to the majestic summit of Mt Tarawera.This rooms is 70 square meters big. You can opt of a double/twin bed. I was staying alone so i got the double king sized bed. The rooms had high quality furnishing. It has a relaxing sitting room with a sofa and a dining table. Personally i think by far this lodge offers the best room view i have ever come across.
En suite, a bath spa. It comes with a separate bath and shower, two basins and Linden Leaves Pure New Zealand bodycare products.
The toilet also has two windows that provides a view of the breathtaking lagoon.
The room also has a private balcony that is a perfect place to watch the sunset setting over the horizon.
Solitaire Lodge accesses a wide range of activities including Trout Fishing, Scenic Flights, Boating, Mountain Biking, Golf, Hiking and Natural Geothermal Pools.
After checking in and putting our belongings in the room, we took a helicopter trip to the nearby active volcano, White Island. Walking on the island is like walking on the moon, as virtually no vegetation can survive the acidic nature of the environment. Being able to set foot on White Island was wonderful and exciting as the volcano was an active one. On the way there my imagination ran wild and i was thinking of like what would happen to me if the volcano were to erupt when i was there.
After the trip to White Island, we reached the Lodge just in time for pre-dinner drinks and had dinner at
the dining room. Solitaire Lodge is renowned for its fine dining and serves mouth-watering modern New Zealand cuisine prepared with only fresh local produce. For pre-dinner drinks, i had a glass of red wine from their carefully selected list of wines. For dinner i had tenderloin with roasted vegetables. I ordered it medium rare and it was perfectly cooked and tender.
After dinner i resided back to the room and slept. It was needed as another day full of adventure awaits me tomorrow..
the dining room. Solitaire Lodge is renowned for its fine dining and serves mouth-watering modern New Zealand cuisine prepared with only fresh local produce. For pre-dinner drinks, i had a glass of red wine from their carefully selected list of wines. For dinner i had tenderloin with roasted vegetables. I ordered it medium rare and it was perfectly cooked and tender.
After dinner i resided back to the room and slept. It was needed as another day full of adventure awaits me tomorrow..
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