February 2012 - Travel Stripe

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Travel Stripe - February 2012

Total Indulgence at the Polynesian Spa Rotorua New Zealand

February 26th 2012 01:23

Set on the very edge of Lake Rotorua, on the southern fringe of the Government Gardens, the Polynesian Spa offers a taste of total indulgence. Long and widely famed for its miraculous waters, it ranks today among the world’s top spas.

For centuries the healing powers of the pools here were known to the Maori people. Then, in 1878, an old Catholic priest by the name of Father Mahoney discovered them. A few months of daily dips so visibly alleviated his crippling arthritis that other suffering clergy and parishioners followed suit. Soon the word was out and visitors from all over the world began to make the pilgrimage to “take the waters”.

The view from a private pool at the Polynesian Spa

In 1882 the Pavilion Bath House was built. It served until 1931 when it was replaced by the Ward Baths. In 1972, Polynesian Pools Ltd took over the lease of the old, and somewhat run down, baths and over the last 50 years has developed them into the luxurious, state-of-the art spa that exists today.

In addition to a range of fabulous spa treatments, the Polynesian Spa has 26 thermal pools, including the famous “Priest’s pool” where the good father used to soak. It offers a variety of bathing experiences - deluxe, adult-only, private and family pools as well as a large freshwater chlorinated pool for those who simply want to swim.

We took a private pool and enjoyed a clear, deliciously hot rock pool with a beautiful view across the lake. Unfortunately sessions in private pools are limited and the annoying light that signalled the end of our time began to flash all too soon.

Time also prevented me from trying any of the spa treatments, so I had to content myself with the do-it-yourself pamper pack from the centre's shop. Its miracle mud mud facial mask, thermal mud scrub and manuka honey moisturiser are truly miraculous,

As I left the Polynesian Spa I couldn't help but wonder what Father Mahoney would think of the self-indugence and vanity he's unleashed.

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Posted By: Patricia - Category: No Category

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Paepaekumana, the Rotorua Government Gardens

February 21st 2012 09:44

The magnificent Rotorua Government Gardens are unique among the great public gardens of the world. Here, you can not only do all the things you'd do in any park - belt a tennis ball across a net, cycle along paths fringed with flower beds, smell the roses, perch on the edge of lily pond and feed the ducks, but you can also peer into bubbling mudpools, breathe in the salubrious (albeit rather overpowering) sulphur scented steam and soak in some of the world's best mineral pools.

You’ll find the Government Gardens on the edge of the lake, just a stone’s throw from the CBD and on the doorstep of some of the city’s best hotels. They’re a mecca for tourists and a favourite spot for locals.

The Government Gardens with a glimpse of the Bathe House

Originally known as Paepaekumana, the site has always been of great significance to the Tangata Whenua, or local people. Many important battles were fought here and many great chiefs and warriors came to bathe in the hot currents at the edge of the lake or in the healing pools hidden in the scrub. The place is rich with legends and stories.

Towards the end of the 1800s, the Tangata Whenua gifted 50 acres of Paepaekumana to the crown “for the benefit of the people of the world”. The land was cleared and formal gardens were laid out.

Before long, the Government saw the opportunity to develop the geothermal area, with its hot springs and mudpools, as the South Pacific’s answer to the spas of Europe. In 1908, the beautiful Tudor bath house welcomed the first tourists seeking to “take the waters”.

In 1901, an elaborate arch, made of local totara wood and representing a crown, was installed at the entrance to the gardens. It was built in honour of the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King George V and Queen Mary), but has always been known as the Prince’s gate.

In the early 1930s the Blue Baths opened. The ornate Mediterranean style building was inspired by the swimming pools of Hollywood and like the stars of Hollywood, the people who frequented them came to play, to see and to be seen. The Blue Baths enjoy the singular fame of having been the first public swimming pool to allow mixed bathing – men and women, that is.

The gardens have seen many changes since the Tudor bath house was built and even since the Blue Baths opened their doors to those first daring mixed bathers. The former now houses the Rotorua Museum and the latter, after many years and several different lives, including one as a restaurant/nightspot, is once again open to bathers, mixed of course.

Vistors still rest in the shade of the Japanese firs and Californian Redwood trees planted in the late 19th century. People still come from all over the world to “take the waters” in the Rotorua Government Gardens, but they them now in re-vamped state-of-the-art pools at the Polynesian Spa.

Read about the Polynesian Spa in the next post.

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Posted By: Patricia - Category: No Category

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Coming into Rotorua

February 16th 2012 09:51

No matter how you approach Rotorua, in the centre Aotearoa New Zealand’s North Island, you’re assured of some spectacular country.

On the shores of Lake Rotorua

Come from the North and you’ll cross the steep, rugged Mamaku Ranges, winding up and down through the bush until suddenly, the road straightens and there, just below, is Lake Rotorua, with Mokoia Island at its centre and the city spread around its shores.

Come from the east and you’ll follow a string of smaller lakes – Rotoma, Rotoehu and Rotoiti, you’ll pass by scorched, steaming, sulphur encrusted Tikitere thermal park, then through a small stretch of farmland until suddenly, there, just ahead, is the island, the lake and Rotorua.

Come from the south and you’ll travel through plantations of pines, then through dry, pumice land where steam curls upwards from breaks in the low scrub and where the scent of sulphur hangs in the air. Finally you crest a hill, round a bend and there before you is Rotorua.

Fly in and you’ll look down on farms laid out like crinkled green quilts, dark stands of pine, dense blue-green bush, bleached, steaming volcanic country and spread across it all, a vast pattern lakes of totally impossible colours.

Next Post; The Rotorua Government Gardens, not to be missed

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Posted By: Patricia - Category: No Category

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Ohtel, a unique boutique hotel

February 5th 2012 03:06

Tucked into the side of a hill in Oriental Bay, Wellington, New Zealand is the tiny and totally different boutique hotel Ohtel.

Who would have thought of setting up an hotel, even a boutique hotel, in the narrow space of one of old Wellington’s tall wooden town houses? Who would have dared to give it such a gimmicky name

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Posted By: Patricia - Category: No Category

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Mokau, Aotearoa New Zealand

February 1st 2012 10:17

The road that runs along the Taranaki Bight on the west coast of Aotearoa New Zealand’s North Island, is a spectacular drive. It is bordered on one side by sloping farmland, rugged hills terraced with ancient Pa sites and pockets of beautiful bush and on the other by magnificent surf beaches. It passes through tiny, lovely little seaside towns, like Mokau.

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