As we arrived into Rotorua through the rain and stepped out, there was a faint eggy smell smell to the area. We had heard it stunk over here due to the high geothermal activity and sulphur in the air, but it didn't seem too bad.

We stayed that night at a DoC campsite right on the edge of lake Okarera. The rain was tipping down again and we were really exposed to the wind so the camper rocked us to sleep that night! We stayed in and watched a film but could barely hear it over the sound of the rain hammering on the roof.

The rain subsided over night but it was still breezy in the morning. The camp wardens came to check we had all survived the storm ok! As we drove out to leave, Ruth stranded us onto a wooden post, much to the dismay of the fellow campers at the site. As she tried to reverse off the post, we got bogged in and half the camp had to help push us out! We then leaked our dump water over the camp just to leave our mark! Everything sorted we hit the road and drove down the thermal highway to Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland. Along the highway, you can see steam rising from the forest from the numerous thermal springs along this stretch of volcanic zone. Wai-O-Tapu, meaning 'sacred waters', has the largest area of surface thermal activity of any hydrothermal system in the Taupo volcanic zone. We first went to see the Lady Knox geyser which erupts at 10.15am daily. We arrived in time and took a seat in the viewing area and were poised, like everyone else there, with our cameras pointing at the small rock geyser we surrounded. We had queried how they knew this natural wonder would erupt at this time everyday - no earlier or later. This was solved when a warden came along, put two objects similar to bath bombs in a brown paper bag into the geyser and stood back. These induce the geyser reaction to spurt water a couple of minutes later 20 meters into the air. It lowered after 30 seconds or so to around 5 meters high for a few minutes. The warden said the geyser erupts every 24-48 hours, but to allow people to see it, they induce the behaviour to help it along.

After this we returned to the park and followed a walking trail around the volcanic zone. We saw a volcanic dome and areas covered with collapsed craters, cold and boiling pools of mud, water and steaming fumaroles (vents where steam leaves the ground and crystals form around them).

Beneath the ground is a system of streams heated by magma left over from earlier volcanic eruptions. The water is so hot that it absorbs minerals out of the rocks through which it passes and transports them to the surface stream where they are ultimately absorbed into the ground. The rotten egg smell in the area was so strong and is in all geothermal areas and is due to hydrogen sulphide.
Boiling springs and volcanic gases introduce numerous mineral elements into the spring water causing the rock colours we saw to be varied and bright.

The walk also gave us a good bush walk, panoramic views of the area, waterfall and forests. A major attraction at the area is the Champagne Pool, which is the largest spring in the district at 65m in diameter an 52m in depth. The surface temperature is a 74 degrees but still bubbles due to the carbon dioxide in the water. A layer of steam hangs over the water giving it an ominous look.
One of the last sights we saw was called the Devils bath, which was a crater, filled with a bright, lime green pool. The colour is a result of excess water from the Champagne pool mixing with sulphur and ferrous salts and can vary in colour depending on the amount of reflected light and cloud cover. It was so strange to see but know it was all natural.

From here we drove up to a large area of mud pools to observe piles of mud bubbling and splattering. It was mesmerising to watch!

When we were finished here as could stand the smell no more, we began out drive over to the east coast. It was good to see the coast again and the waters are beautifully coloured.

We decided to stop for the night and found a nearby DoC campsite in our booklet. The site ended up not being nearby as we drive for nearly two hours slowly along a gravel road that wound up an over hills and through forests. When we finally arrived at the site, no one else was there and there is nothing around for miles, it is very remote. It was quite like a horror film setting in the dark and rain and we spent most of the night expecting a masked killer to emerge from the bush!

We did however survive the night and drove the two hour winding journey back to the main road before containing east. We will see what camps we end up on for our last four nights in the van!

Amy. x