Rotorua Museum

Rotorua may just be the smelliest place in New Zealand, but that didn’t stop early explorers from exploiting its natural wonders. People used Rotorua’s natural thermal baths since the mid 1800s, but the Rotorua Bath House (now home to the Rotorua Museum), which opened in 1908 as a spa and treatment center, marks the New Zealand Government’s first major investment in the tourism industry. Patrons came to the bath house not only to cure ailments such as arthritis and poor circulation but also to beautify themselves in the mineral waters and mud baths.

The building itself is gorgeous and its Elizabethan style architecture proves just as interesting as the museum’s contents. The bath house is the most standout building in Rotorua, a city built in the crater of a volcano. Too bad the sulfuric smell was so nauseating—I could only spend about 45 minutes there before I had to flee the putrid egg scent for fresher air!