Monday - Today we(Me, Neeley and Fiona - who has joined us on the trip since Wellington) left 'Taupo' for 'Rotorua'. We arrived by lunchtime and checked into "Central Backpackers". It is $20 a night with great facilities and in easy reach of the town centre. We then decided to take a tour of the town after visiting "Ronnies" the best bakery ever, doing one of the free thermal walks. We went to "Kuirau Park" and walked round the grounds past the steaming lakes, mud pools and volcanic steam vents. It was really interesting and at one point we were hidden by steam! Then we progressed to the "Maori" village of 'Ohinemutu' where there was an impressive "Marae" building, many "Maori" carved statues, a cemetery and a church. The walk also took us to "Lake Rotorua", which was really beautiful! We went to the shop and I brought a beautifully carved "Maori" cultural statue. Then in the evening we all went back and had a DVD night. Tuesday - It is our second day in 'Rotorua' and we decided to visit "Te Puia" and the "Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley". We arrived and paid the $22 and then managed to catch the 12.15 midday "Maori" cultural concert in the "Te Aronui A Rua Marae". It was superb, they had traditional "Maori" dancing, singing and speeches. It was really fun and I learnt quite a bit about the culture. They did a "Poi" dance with white balls attached to a string and the "Haka" (breath fire), with spears. After the concert we went to the "Maori" village, passing the traditional canoe. Next up we visited the Kiwi bird house, it was dark as they are nocturnal creatures, but we did manage to see one. Then came the most interesting part of the day. We passed the "Ngamokaiakoko" mudpool and watched as they bubbled and spat mud. Next up was the "Prince of Wales Geyser" which was very impressive but not quite as amazing as the "Pohutu Geyser" which went 25m into the air!! Then after a walk around the thermal area we came across the "Blue Pool" which had clear blue striking water at 30C-50C, that was an outflow from the geyser. Then we came to the "Ngararatuatara" Cooking Pool which had been used by the "Maori" for cooking the towns food. Finally today we drove from the "Te Puia" to the "Blue and Green Lakes" that were stunning, the "Blue Lake" is formed in a crater. Then in the evening Neeley and I chilled out and Fiona went to a "Maori" festival night where there was traditional dancing and cooking. She said that they showed how they cooked the food in the ground and also some more traditional dances. Wednesday - We set off to 'Auckland' today, via the 'Coromandel Penninsula'.