The geothermal pools and springs throughout town and the nearby areas give it a slightly eerie, smokey look. Since they're natural springs, they also have that sulphur-y smell, earning Rotorua the well-deserved nickname "Sulphur City." (Even the information in the hotel describes the occasional breakdown of electronics being, in part, due to the high amounts of sulphur in the air... odd, I thought.)

Kuirau Park is the site of all these pools, but if you wander up Fenton Street, you'll bump into the a cluster of thermal activities (i.e. Thermal Village, the spas, and the site where a geyser that erupts 10-20 times a day).