The centre of Rotorua is strangely like Milton Keynes. There are long straight wide roads and loads of roundabouts. On my first evening I set off to walk down to the lake after having had supper in a pub/restaurant called the Pig and Whistle. Generally I do not find walking in NZ towns particularly easy as there is a lack of pedestrian crossings except in a few small pedestrianised areas. You have to wait ages at each intersection for lights to change. It is a bit like crossing the roads near Morrisons at Kirkstall to get across to BHS.
The lake at Rotorua is impressive, in fact when I first saw it coming down the hill into town it looked like the sea. The sea plane made me think of the 30s and I almost expected the Duke of Windsor or somebody to have flown in. 
There are some interesting old buildings which go back to the days of the early spa. This is the Prince's Gate Hotel and then there is what is now the Museum but was the old baths/pump house in the magnificent Government Gardens.
Everywhere you go there is the smell of sulphur and the sights of plumes of steam all over the place. The issue of smells reminded me of when I first arrived in NZ and was surprised on arriving in Auckland to be able to smell urine where ever I went. I wondered if there was a problem with rought sleepers or too many drunken back packers. Finally when I drove out of Auckland and could still smell it at the motorway toll services I began to think it must be me. I finally realised it had to be some kind of plant when I could still smell it at our island stop on the Bay of Islands cruise. I think maybe a tree which I think is called the Christmas tree. It has bright red flowers with filament petals and is everywhere. Kiwis can't smell it and now I can't either.
