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Rotorua: Boiling Mud And Urban Volcanoes
We’ve read several times that as you approach Rotorua, it’s possible to smell the town before you ever see it. Well it’s not strictly true but the pungent odour of sulphur hits us as soon as we open the car door and, as we are to discover, permeates through this most unusual city 24/7. The smell emanates, of course, from the excessive geothermal activity taking place just below ground level – the whole city of Rotorua is built over a caldera formed during a volcanic eruption around 240,000 years ago, and there is certainly no mistaking the level of activity still present today. It’s impossible to miss, in fact. But…
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Destination Dalyan
The 3-hour drive from Pamukkale down to the coast just gets better and better, through spectacular mountain scenery and then over the mountains themselves. Once we leave the D330 at Golcuk and cut through the lanes which take us to the D400, we are deep into pine clad mountains, winding our way first up and then down the spiralling lanes. It’s a terrific drive. After two hotels and a guest house so far on this trip, it’s good to settle into our new riverside apartment knowing we now have our own space for a while. The rocky outcrops across the river are easy on the eye and as we approach…
