Skip to main content

Rotorua, New Zealand


Today’s Destination is: Rotorua, New Zealand

Today’s Lesson Learned- Losing my reading glasses

Travel Advice:  Maps offline can help you find your way solo.

 

FAQ: Annie asks Dr. Travelbest; I’m so worried about traveling alone. I must build my confidence to go on a trip, even with another person. If I was to go alone, What would be the biggest concern for solo travel safety?

 

Answer: Annie, you should be aware but not worry unnecessarily. Travel at the step you feel comfortable.

You will be safer in many ways if you follow specific simple guidelines.

Always ask for help before you go solo when you need it. Others want to help you out. I’ve made a quick list here for you to follow.

 

 5  Quick Safety Answers for Solo Travel Safety

  • Stay Connected. ...Keep Others Apprised of Your Itinerary. ...

  • Stash Money, Credit Cards, and Passport in Separate Places. ...

  • Ensure Your Lodgings Are Safe. ...

  • Stay Healthy. ...

  • Pray for a safe trip.



Today’s destination: Rotorua, New Zealand

 

If you like discussing the climate, you will want to learn about geothermal, including geysers and mud pools.

One place to explore is on the North Island of New Zealand, in a small town called Rotorua. It’s a volcanic wonder space with unique geothermal attractions and landscapes. There are rare flora, fauna, and history of the Maori. The region has one of the world’s most active geothermal fields. Five minutes from the city, you will see a geyser called Pohutu. This erupts to a height of 100 feet and does it up to 20 times per day. You can’t escape the smell of sulfur, the clouds of steam, and the volcanic bubbling.

Besides this fantastic spectacle, what else is there worth seeing? Visit the shopping markets in the central city and then the free thermal reserve, which features beautiful public gardens, bubbling mud pools, colorful hot lakes, and free thermal foot pools.

Then consider a bike ride past four major geothermal attractions on the Thermal bike trail.  Stop along the way for a dip in a natural hot river. 

Visit a Maori village where the people live amongst the geothermal activity and use the boiling water for cooking, bathing, and warming their homes. I watched a dance of the Maori warriors and was entertained by the cultural experience. I recommend it.

Depending on the weather, you can float in a thermally heated public swimming pool or one of many luxurious thermal spas.

https://www.newzealand.com/us/rotorua-geothermal/

Today’s Lesson Learned-  Losing my reading glasses.

I lost my reading glasses and struggled with not having great vision. I was struggling with seeing the small print on my phone.

Don’t lose your glasses; if you do, have a spare pair handy

If you wear contacts, bring your eyeglasses as a backup when traveling.

Today’s Travel Advice-Maps offline can help you find your way solo. Free.

 

Check out the map dot me app, where you don’t need to have data, just GPS.

 

It will help you route yourself, even without an online connection.

They have offline maps of the whole world.

 

Search and discover travel maps, tourist guides, and navigation offline.

they have a web version, too.

Maps.me works with no Wi-Fi or cellular internet and is free. All it needs is your phone's GPS! It gets its data from OpenStreetMap. OpenStreetMap is an app you can download to your phone.

Find attractions, monuments, churches, viewpoints, museums, businesses, hairdressers, dentists, and cafes.

They have 140 million customers in 190 countries

and 1.5 million app store reviews and are based in Switzerland.

 


Check out this episode!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

RIP Dean Alphonso Buell

Celebrating the life of Dean Alphonso Buell in April, 2012 with his mom and two friends. Dr. Travelbest is priviledged to know Raquel Giraldez, mother of the deceased, as she was the designer and illustrator and most travelled friend of Dr. Travelbest in 1993 as the book was being written and published. Dean was involved with the editorial, even though he was a youngster at the time. Thanks, Dean, for sharing your mom so that Dr. Travelbest could teach others about Independent Travel. Speaking of travel, this is the view from the front yard of Raquel's home in Buellton, CA. The mountains in the distant background are picture postcard on this memorable day, right near the 101. (Photos: top: view from Raquels, bottom: center, Raquel and right, Rosanna Figuerola (sp?) at the Celebration of Dean's 24 years on the earth.) There were so many stars that night, we knew that Dean was watching us from above with his new friends.

Milan Italy

In this episode, the FAQ is: How do I manage increasing technology and security for travel?   Today’s Destination is: Milan, Italy   Today’s Misstep- I almost took a train to Switzerland at the Milan station   Travel Advice: Bring a handheld portable fan for the heat. It can be oppressive.   FAQ: The level of technology and security has stepped up for travel and entertainment. How do I manage it as a senior citizen in a very busy world?   Answer:    There is a growing level of distrust in today’s environment. For some venues, you can no longer use a screenshot of a QR code to access a ticket, so it must be a live link if you don’t have the paper ticket. If you are not on Wi-Fi, you may have trouble accessing the venue, like I did in July at the Symphony, where we used handwritten paper tickets.  The Crowdstrike tech shutdown of computers in July 2024, with thousands of airline flights canceled, was a peek into what could be an even lo...

Best of Hawaii's Big Island

  Today’s Destination is: Best of Hawaii's Big Island     Connect with Dr Travelbest Drmarytravelbest.com Dr. Mary Travelbest Twitter Dr. Mary Travelbest Facebook Page Dr. Mary Travelbest Facebook Group Dr. Mary Travelbest Instagram email: info@drmarytravelbest.com Dr. Mary Travelbest Podcast Dr. Travelbest on TikTok Dr.Travelbest onYouTube Check out this episode!