on Wednesday morning and drove three hours southeast to a town called Rotorua, stopping along the way at a small English-feeling town called Cambridge. The drive was through rolling green hills and farmland, very similar to the scenery in South Wales. On arrival into Rotorua we stopped in at 'Skylines Skyride' to try our hand at 'Luging'. Before we really knew what we were doing we had bought a gondola 
pass each to the summit of Mt Ngongotaha and 3 'luge passes'. Well, we found out what the luge was! Arriving at the summit by gondola we saw 3 tracks skirting down the mountainside with people wizzing down the tracks on something that resembled a large plastic dinner tray on whe
els and with a steering column...it looked absolutely insane so of course we had to give it a go! Our first trip was down the 'scenic route' which was actually rather mild but gave us the hang of driving the luge and some nice views across Rotorua and the lake. At the bottom we caught a chairlift back up and flew down the intermediate and then the advanced tracks which were very fast. Ash even managed to get some 'air' off one of the big drops! It was a lot of fun spending the afternoon like big kids!After an afternoon of Luging we found ourselves a 5* hostel (yes, there is such a thing... it's a hostel for the more 'mature and fussy' budget traveller like us!!) and we dumped our bags and went to check out the town. Rotorua is a small and touristy town and is centred on an area of intense geothermal activity. 
We wandered around one of the several parks in the city which was scattered with large steaming pools, bubbling mud pots and smelt heavily of sulphur (rotten eggs).... Bi's stinking cold had its plus side! It was funny to also see steam venting from the roadside drains! After our walk in the cold we headed across town to the Polynesian Spa to spend a few hours soaking in the various thermal pools ranging from 27 to 42 degrees and overlooking Lake Rotorua. It was very relaxing and great for the body, even if 4 days on we still can't get the eggy smell of sulphur out of our swimwear! We finished the evening off with a complimentary glass of wine in a local pub, The Pig and Whistle, courtesy of the hostel we were staying at. We are getting exceptionally good at making the most of every freebie we can get hold of. It is 'off season' here and there are loads of discount vouchers in all the tourist brochures so our car boot is loaded with them......especially the 'buy one get one free' token for a popular coffee house chain!
We wandered around one of the several parks in the city which was scattered with large steaming pools, bubbling mud pots and smelt heavily of sulphur (rotten eggs).... Bi's stinking cold had its plus side! It was funny to also see steam venting from the roadside drains! After our walk in the cold we headed across town to the Polynesian Spa to spend a few hours soaking in the various thermal pools ranging from 27 to 42 degrees and overlooking Lake Rotorua. It was very relaxing and great for the body, even if 4 days on we still can't get the eggy smell of sulphur out of our swimwear! We finished the evening off with a complimentary glass of wine in a local pub, The Pig and Whistle, courtesy of the hostel we were staying at. We are getting exceptionally good at making the most of every freebie we can get hold of. It is 'off season' here and there are loads of discount vouchers in all the tourist brochures so our car boot is loaded with them......especially the 'buy one get one free' token for a popular coffee house chain!Thursday was another busy day and we had glorious weather for it... finally!! We were up super early and after our customary porridge and making of packed lunches, we drove south through 
thick fog to Wai-O-Tapu, a volcanic reserve. We arrived for opening and had the place to ourselves which was lovely. We walked around the steaming park looking at the volcanic craters, mud pots and beautiful pools which had been coloured by the various chemicals brought up to the surface by volcanic activity. They had great names such as the 'Devils Ink Pot', 'Artists Palette' and the 'Champagne Pool'. 
Again, the air was thick with the smell of sulphur and very foggy from all the steam that was being vented from the ground. At 10.15am we watched the scheduled eruption of the Lady Knox geyser (triggered by a packet of soap powder)... we say erupt but it looked more like a hot water fountain. It was not the most e
xciting experience having already seen the geysers in Iceland which erupt on their own with huge force. We spent another few hours wandering around the park before jumping back in to the car and heading further south towards the town of Taupo. We stopped to admire the impressive Huka Falls (where 220,000 litres of water a second rages through a canyon only 15m wide) and then spent a good hour walking around the Craters of the Moon park,
another geothermal park with great views towards Lake 
Taupo (the largest lake in Australasia) and the distant Tongariro mountains. We stopped for a late picnic in Taupo at a scenic spot overlooking the town and lake. It was a bright day and we could see clearly across the lake to the snow-covered mountains in the distance. After lunch we took a scenic drive along the eastern shores of Lake Taupo, stopping to take photos before returning to Rotorua for DIY tea and scones! 
That evening we decided to go to a native Maori performance and hangi in a village just outside Rotorua called Mitai. There we saw an excellent show of Maori songs, weapons displays, rituals and the inevitable haka finale (made famous by the All Blacks rugby team). We then proceeded to eat a 
hangi, a meal of meat and vegetables (potatoes and kumura or sweet potato) that is cooked under the ground using stones that have been heated on an open fire. The food had a smoky taste and was plentyful and delicious. We finished the night with a walk around Rainbow Springs Reserve, a freshwater spring and native animal enclosure where amongst other things we saw glow worms and some very amusing native kiwi birds jumping around. We were originally worried that the experience would be very touristy but in fact it had a pleasantly authentic feel and was a very worthwhile and enjoyable night.
thick fog to Wai-O-Tapu, a volcanic reserve. We arrived for opening and had the place to ourselves which was lovely. We walked around the steaming park looking at the volcanic craters, mud pots and beautiful pools which had been coloured by the various chemicals brought up to the surface by volcanic activity. They had great names such as the 'Devils Ink Pot', 'Artists Palette' and the 'Champagne Pool'. Again, the air was thick with the smell of sulphur and very foggy from all the steam that was being vented from the ground. At 10.15am we watched the scheduled eruption of the Lady Knox geyser (triggered by a packet of soap powder)... we say erupt but it looked more like a hot water fountain. It was not the most e
xciting experience having already seen the geysers in Iceland which erupt on their own with huge force. We spent another few hours wandering around the park before jumping back in to the car and heading further south towards the town of Taupo. We stopped to admire the impressive Huka Falls (where 220,000 litres of water a second rages through a canyon only 15m wide) and then spent a good hour walking around the Craters of the Moon park, another geothermal park with great views towards Lake 
Taupo (the largest lake in Australasia) and the distant Tongariro mountains. We stopped for a late picnic in Taupo at a scenic spot overlooking the town and lake. It was a bright day and we could see clearly across the lake to the snow-covered mountains in the distance. After lunch we took a scenic drive along the eastern shores of Lake Taupo, stopping to take photos before returning to Rotorua for DIY tea and scones! 
That evening we decided to go to a native Maori performance and hangi in a village just outside Rotorua called Mitai. There we saw an excellent show of Maori songs, weapons displays, rituals and the inevitable haka finale (made famous by the All Blacks rugby team). We then proceeded to eat a 
hangi, a meal of meat and vegetables (potatoes and kumura or sweet potato) that is cooked under the ground using stones that have been heated on an open fire. The food had a smoky taste and was plentyful and delicious. We finished the night with a walk around Rainbow Springs Reserve, a freshwater spring and native animal enclosure where amongst other things we saw glow worms and some very amusing native kiwi birds jumping around. We were originally worried that the experience would be very touristy but in fact it had a pleasantly authentic feel and was a very worthwhile and enjoyable night.
