So whilst we were in smelly Rotorua the rain was pouring and pouring so we treated our selves to a day at the Polynesian spa. Most of the mineral pools were between 37 and 42 degrees so as you can imagine we warmed up pretty quick. They are all naturally heated by the warm earth underneath. Apparently the earths crust is very thin here that's why there is so much thermal activity, most houses have hot pools all you have to do is dig down and there you go! You can even cook your food with the steam that rises up its so hot. Once the rain cleared up we went to have a look at some natural thermal spots in the area very strange to see bubbling mud pools in the middle of a park!We also went in to the hills to take a look at a few of the lakes around the area firstly there was blue lake which would be fantastic in summer and the setting was so pretty we also went to green lake which was equally as nice. The few people that do live around there have the best views. After a few days in Rotorua we headed further south to Taupo firstly stopping at Waiotapu thermal village which is full of natural craters and huge mineral and thermal pools. At 10:15 every day they add soap powder to a geyser which then erupts and shoots water 20 feet in the air. Pretty impressive!Our next stop on the way to Taupo would be the Huka Falls which gushes thousands of gallons of water. It was particularly fierce due to all the rain we have had but still a great aqua blue colour. Before we knew it we were strapped n to water proofs and a life jacket and whizzing around the river doing 360 degree spins on the Huka falls jet it was scary but loads of fun and very wet but wed been rained on the past 5 days so it wasn't much different.In Taupo it was STILL raining so off we went to the swimming baths lovely indoor and outdoor pools heated to 35 degrees a bit of a step up from Halifax baths! Heiki the big kid was a bit upset the slides were closed though! After another night there we set off early in another storm! To Napier the art deco town. On the way we stopped at the Waipunga falls to have a look again the looked pretty good with all the rain we've had so there are a few plus points. Once in Napier the rain again was pretty bad so we didn't do too much on the first day but luckily the next day was a bit finer set we set off on a little tour. Of course we had to go to a few wineries being the connoisseurs we are after our trip in south Australia. They were both a little posh for us. We took in some views of Napier at the bluff hill look out and then on to my favourite the silky oak chocolate factory which had a box of chocolates and the box was even made out of chocolate! Beats your dairy milk any day! We also went to the café where we had chocolate extreme which had to be the best hot chocolate ever yum yum!!!!We went for a few beers and some food that night you've never seen any where so quiet but the pubss and the food was good. The next day we headed off back to Palmerston with a stop at the Te Mata cheese factory where we tried some gorgeous cheeses and a couple of not so good ones why any one eats blue cheese is beyond me. Lastly we drove to the top of Te Mata peak which was pretty high the views were fantastic especially because the rain had stopped and the clouds have cleared.We had a good drive back again the green scenery was really pretty and we drove back through the Manawatu gorge with the windmills in back ground, much more interesting than driving on the M1 back home.This week we haven't been up to much just trying to save a bit of money as its going down pretty quick, i think we will be sleeping on the beach before long! Also we've been helping John and Lynn move into their nice new house so that's kept us busy.