We started this action-packed day with a walk in the park. However Kuirau Park in Rotorua is no ordinary park as it is a thermal area, so there are bubbling pools of mud and giant clouds of steam rising up from the heated water. After a nice gentle walk we headed to the Luge. Our Hobbiton guide J.R. had recommended the Luge as great fun, which was great for us as we might otherwise have missed it. To get to the Luge you ascend the mountain on a gondola (what we'd call a cable car?. Andrea we insisted we buy the combo ticket; in this you got the gondola ride, 5 goes on the Luge, 15 shots on the air-rifle firing range, and a go on the Sky Swing. The Sky Swing is basically a giant pendulum where you're pulled backwards to what seems like a terrifying height, before releasing the cable and accelerating to 150kph in 2 seconds. Not a good prospect for Andy, who doesn't like roller coasters, or even going fast over bumps in the road! To add to the excitement / terror, you pull the cable to release yourself at the top. The job of pulling the cable was left to Andrea, who seemed to misunderstand the instructions and thought all the cable did was tilt the cage, rather than sending us hurtling towards the ground screaming at the top of our lungs! (Un)Fortunately there was a camera attached to the cage filming our ride, and there's a very funny close up of Andy's face and the look of sheer terror as Andrea pulled the cable. We bought film on DVD so it can be enjoyed(?!) again and again.

Our next activity was the Luge. This consisted of a plastic three-wheeled cart, like a toboggan, very close to the ground with handlebars like a bike for steering and braking (braking done by pulling back on the handlebars). Oh and a big hill! This was excellent fun! On the first go they make you go on the Scenic track where the bends are less sharp and the hills less steep, but it's the longest course at 2km in length. Then you're free to try the Intermediate and Advanced tracks. Don't know how fast you actually go, but when you're only centimetres off the ground it seems really quick! We both thoroughly enjoyed the Luge and could have stayed there all day time and funds permitting.

After shooting metal targets with the air-rifles, it was back down the mountain and off to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, south of Rotorua. The last tickets are sold at 3:45pm, and we got there at 3:40pm. We were told it would take 75 minutes to go around, and we had 75 minutes to leave the car park before getting locked in! Despite not being able to take the park at a leisurely pace, this was the best of the thermal areas in our opinion. We particularly enjoyed the top loop, where you get down amongst the bubbling lakes. The highlights of this park were the white terraces, a vast area of white mineral deposits, and the Champagne Pool, a large, clear blue, naturally bubbling pool, off which vast clouds of steam rose.

We managed to see everything in the thermal wonderland and get out without being locked in, and then headed further south to Turangi, south of Lake Taupo. Turangi was the first bad place we'd visited in New Zealand. Nothing bad actually happened, but the place looks really tired and run down, and the camp site had lots of signs up warning that everything you own will be stolen. The bar was playing loud ACDC and we were stared at when ordering beers, so we hid down the other end and had a game of pool. We wanted to eat out but it seems Tuesday is the day most of the restaurants close. So we went to the Hong Kong takeaway for Special Chowmeins then hid in the van.