At the roundabout, take the second exit...
espiritkat and I spent the weekend going to Rotorua on a whim. All up we probably dropped at least $700 on the weekend, if not more. But it was worth it just to get away and to check out the thermal pools.
Sometimes our telepathy scares both of us :P. Neither of us really know who had the idea first, all I know is that I brought it up after Kiana had been thinking about it for a while. Synchronistic signs on the way home convinced us that this was a good thing to do, so after a little research we plopped clothes into a bag, toothbrush, vitamins, reading material and togs; and booked a car right then, drove the 4 hour drive to Rotorua where we checked into a motel which "by random chance" (ne pas!) just happened to have located our room right outside a prime view of the blowholes, where we could drink a nice bottle of Merlot, eat a pizza, and meditate with the spirits of the region.
I found myself getting all sorts of insights into the Arte I study, as well as being able to inaugurate my second set of rosary beads through dipping them in various sulphur pools, and infusing them with the wisdom of the area. We spent at least an hour and a half walking through the 50 acres of park at Hell's Gate (where Sir George Bernard Shaw once sojourned and named the place... his theologian friends believed he would pass through Hell's Gate if he did not repent, and so thus he named the area). The history of the area is fascinating... Maoris used the area to heal their wounds after battle, and at least one Maori lady from history ended their life there in protest of her father's disapproval of her. The tohunga or high priests used to value the waters and the muds and claim their powers of foresight were derived from bathing in the waters. And so on.
I found myself getting a deeper level of insight into the words of Hermes who said that "The Water of the Air, which is between Heaven and Earth, is the Life of Everything; for by means of its Moisture and Warmth, it is the medium between the two opposites, as Fire and Water, and
therefore it rains water on earth, Heaven has opened itself, and sent its Dew on earth, making as sweet as honey, and moist. Therefore the Earth flowers and bears manifold coloured blooms and fruits, and in her interior has grown a large Tree with a silver stem, stretching itself out to the earth's surface." I also felt renewed by the beauty of the area, and the mud bath didnt hurt either :P
All in all I'd recommend doing something like that again :)
Sometimes our telepathy scares both of us :P. Neither of us really know who had the idea first, all I know is that I brought it up after Kiana had been thinking about it for a while. Synchronistic signs on the way home convinced us that this was a good thing to do, so after a little research we plopped clothes into a bag, toothbrush, vitamins, reading material and togs; and booked a car right then, drove the 4 hour drive to Rotorua where we checked into a motel which "by random chance" (ne pas!) just happened to have located our room right outside a prime view of the blowholes, where we could drink a nice bottle of Merlot, eat a pizza, and meditate with the spirits of the region.
I found myself getting all sorts of insights into the Arte I study, as well as being able to inaugurate my second set of rosary beads through dipping them in various sulphur pools, and infusing them with the wisdom of the area. We spent at least an hour and a half walking through the 50 acres of park at Hell's Gate (where Sir George Bernard Shaw once sojourned and named the place... his theologian friends believed he would pass through Hell's Gate if he did not repent, and so thus he named the area). The history of the area is fascinating... Maoris used the area to heal their wounds after battle, and at least one Maori lady from history ended their life there in protest of her father's disapproval of her. The tohunga or high priests used to value the waters and the muds and claim their powers of foresight were derived from bathing in the waters. And so on.
I found myself getting a deeper level of insight into the words of Hermes who said that "The Water of the Air, which is between Heaven and Earth, is the Life of Everything; for by means of its Moisture and Warmth, it is the medium between the two opposites, as Fire and Water, and
therefore it rains water on earth, Heaven has opened itself, and sent its Dew on earth, making as sweet as honey, and moist. Therefore the Earth flowers and bears manifold coloured blooms and fruits, and in her interior has grown a large Tree with a silver stem, stretching itself out to the earth's surface." I also felt renewed by the beauty of the area, and the mud bath didnt hurt either :P
All in all I'd recommend doing something like that again :)