Estelle Sarney takes a Rotorua walk through history and a thermal field.
You can pay a fortune to visit one of Rotorua's thermal parks to walk between bubbling mud and steaming pools. Or you can take a lovely walk around the lakefront and see some for free.
The trail from the playground at the Lake Front Reserve to the Polynesia Spa is more low key than the tourist parks, but it doesn't take much thermal activity to impress youngsters. And quite apart from that, this is a peaceful track with beautiful views over the lake that's just the right length for a morning jog, or end-of-day walk before dinner.
The easy path starts just east of the playground and takes you first through a bush strip between the golf course and the lake. Through the trees you catch views down the boating part of the lake towards Mokoia Island, and the hills beyond. In the late afternoon, with the sun sparkling off the deep blue water, this outlook is stunning.
The track comes out at a boat launch area at Motutara Point, and then drifts south into manuka. Here you look across the steaming milky waters of Sulphur Bay, home to hundreds of birds that pick their way through crusty outcrops.
