Meet Me in Hell

Hell’s playground: spewing geysers, orange acidic lakes, and boiling mud.

Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007
Rotorua, New Zealand

Learn more about New Zealand in International Living Postcards--your daily escape

Signposts point to the Devil’s Inkpot, the Devil’s Bath, and the Inferno Crater. Steam rises from cracks and hidden vents...rocks are streaked sulfur yellow...hot water geysers erupt up to 100 feet into the air.

What’s more, the air has a pervasive rotten egg stink. It makes you wonder if you have somehow fallen into the wrong kind of afterlife.

Volcanic crater lakes come in malevolent-looking hues: pea green, brick red, and pale orange. Some are so hot and acidic, they would strip your skin off within minutes. Now listen to the glug and spit of thick boiling mud. The gray pools resemble cauldrons of killer porridge prepared by Lucifer himself.

Hell? No, Rotorua on New Zealand’s North Island. A lakeside city, Rotorua is also noted for its thermal spas and rich Maori culture.
Rotorua is less than a day’s drive from Auckland, where we’re holding the Live and Prosper in New Zealand seminar in March. Enjoying an endless summer and lower living costs, a number of U.S. retirees live part-time in New Zealand.

Admittedly, Rotorua may not sound like your idea of a settler’s paradise. However, house prices here offer a good indication of what’s available once you go looking outside of the major cities.

Right at this moment, a sky-blue weatherboard-clad home of 100 square meters is on the market for NZ$45,000 (US$35,000). This low price is undoubtedly because it’s on a leasehold section on the edge of town. Even so, the ground lease is set at only NZ$585 ($461) per year, and doesn’t expire until 2078. The agents say that rental income for this property is estimated at NZ$400 ($315) per month.

One-bedroom freehold properties with lake views in Rotorua start at around NZ$130,000 ($102,000), or you could buy a typical three-bedroom family home for NZ$245,000 ($193,000).

In more heavenly locations, you can still find good bargains. For example, in Queenstown--a beautiful area surrounded by stunning lake and mountain scenery--you’ll find a fully furnished two-bedroom apartment with 60 square meters of living space for NZ$245,000 ($193,000). It has a fixed tenancy until June 2008 and currently returns NZ$1,200 ($946) per month. You could keep it as a rental or move in when the tenancy is up.

Steenie Harvey
For International Living

Editor’s Note: New Zealand today is like Hawaii was 40 to 50 years ago. Back in those days, lots on the big island sold for chump change...but not anymore. New Zealand could be set to go the same way. Pacific beachfront is getting scarcer, and the more people who discover New Zealand’s seascapes, the more prices are likely to increase. Discover where to find the remaining bargains at IL’s Live and Prosper in New Zealand Seminar, March 2008 in Auckland, New Zealand.

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