I`m sitting here in Queenstown quite a while after all this happened so trying hard to remember . . .

Rotorua is an area of massive thermal activity - there are steaming pools of hot mud and water everywhere and because of all the sulphur the air kinda smells of rotten eggs all the time!! we stayed in a campsite in the centre of town which was cool, and the first night we were there we headed off to the Polynesian spa. this is a big complex of hot pools, all naturally heated by the thermal activity. there are three slightly acidic pools and three alkaline. the spa is all open roof so you sit in the hot pools with the most amazing views of the lake and the mountains. very relaxing! the next day we went to rotorua museum which was really interesting and showed the history of the hot baths in rotorua - including the electric shock treatment the used to offer - don`t fancy sitting in a bath full of water while someone passes an electric shock through it! In the centre of town there is a thermal park with loads of bubbling mud pools and lakes of steaming water - there are fences around it so you cant fall in! really strange - seeing the earth like that just in the centre of town.

one of the other main sites is the green and blue lakes - both are spiritual places to the Maori and you cant get too close to the green lake, but there is a point where you stand and you can see both lakes   - and the colour difference, which to be honest wasn`t that noticeable. a little further out of town is the buried village. there was a huge volcano eruption about 100 years ago and the villages was destroyed. what was really interesting is that even then rotorua was a tourist town, with people coming to use the hot pools and see the pink and white terraces - created by the minerals leaking out of the ground. the remains of the village are preserved in the  museum. we then drove out to a viewing point where we could see the volcano which had exploded and the crater it had left and the new lakes it had created.

that night we cooked the biggest BBQ ever - just for the two of us!! we had lamb, steak, sweet potato and coleslaw - someone actually asked us if it was all just for us two!! must admit, Steve is getting very good at BBQ`s now . . . .

next day we went to the thermal wonderland on our way out of rotorua. the main attraction is the Lady Know Geyser which explodes ever day at 10am - with a little help from some soap. . .

was quite amazing!! there is a mound of earth and all of a sudden steam comes out, then water starts bubbling then shoots out into the air, about 5 metres high! the rest of the park is like walking through some weird landscape, as if you are on a different planet . . . there are huge holes which had been stained yellow, red and green due to the different minerals in the ground. the champagne pool is a pool of yellow water - doesn`t look real! there is also a huge lake which stars of red and then green and has steam constantly coming off the top. cant  really explain. will have to put pictures up. but it looks as if there is paint in the water, the colours are so vivid. the last lake we saw was called the devil`s bath and was full of acid green water - looked like it would burn your skin off!! the whole place had a really strong smell to it, acid and sulphur. was really interesting seeing it, and it reminded you of just what was happening under your feet!!

we didnt fancy paying $100 to see a maori show as it all seemed a bit tacky, so we carried on down to Taupo.