North Island Day 8: Paying Good Money To Roll In Mud

Just when you thought you'd gotten used to the smell of Rotorua up crops Hell's Gate, a geothermal reserve with mud baths and sulphur spas and if you have a shit load of cash, massages. $85 got us park entry, a 20 minute mud bath followed by a sulphur spa which are both apparently good for your skin albeit not your nasal passages. Well I'd had my little heart set on a mud bath so off we went to check it out.
The park is pretty cool, you pretty much just wander round and look at stuff with steam coming out of it whilst trying not to retch too much. It's a striking landscape though, you can see where they got the name from.

As we wandered back to towards the spa area a man called Benji asked us if we'd like to carve patterns in some wood for free. Ah well, it's free init so we picked our patterns and hacked away at our little squares. It's quite cool actually and he even coated them in oil for us afterwards although I have no idea what I'm going to do with mine. The symbol apparently means "Strength" which lets face it, we could all use some of that every now and then.

Then it was off to the mud spa. Word of advice; Don't wear white or your best togs for this because they will not remain so for long. It also turns silver jewllery black so if you're quite partial to that ring your dear dead granny left to you in her will you might want to leave it at home.
I fucking loved the mud bath though, you jump into this warm, murky water and feel around the bottom for lumps of mud to smear all over yourself whilst trying not the think about how many people before you have smeared this exact mud in parts you don't wanna know about. Fortunately we didn't find any random pubes but the girls in our dorm did when they went a bit later.

You Know Ya Want Me

Once your 20 minutes is up they'll come and let you know, you have to wash the mud off you then get in the shower so as you're totally clean for the spa. The shower is fucking freezing! Like seriously freezing cold, I mean it must feel worse after you've been in a hot mud bath but come on! A cold shower? In a geothermal reserve?? What like they don't have any means to heat it up, the sadistic bastards?!
Amends are made in the sulphur spa, though. We soaked in there for a good hour until it was just too hot. We left maybe not looking visibly younger or revitilised but certainly noticably smellier. I'd go back though and recommend it to anyone with a strong stomach or who really really likes smelling of farts.

It doesn't matter how much you shower either, the trouble with Rotorua is, you can never tell if its you that still stinks or if its the bloody city.

written by

Koala Bear on January 20, 2009 from Rotorua, New Zealand

from the travel blog: Tiny Little NZ Road Trip

tagged RoadTrip, LovinIt and NorthIsland

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Seriously, I have already washed my stuff three times and it ALL STILL STINKS!

Gonna sling and get a whole new wardrobe I think.

I'm over eggs, hills and geothermal pools!

Not pies though.

I love my pies.........

written by Andi on January 31, 2009

Yeah man I wonder if it ever comes out. I'm keepin my sulphur clothes an my clean clothes separate and never washing them together. Towels have had it tho, no way will they get the smell out.

written by

Koala Bear on January 31, 2009

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