Today we were on a mission..... Bags packed and off we walked. We walked right along the bay towards the areas famous gannet colony. Several hours later we were as far as we could go at a little cafe in the village of Clifton. Unfortunately to walk to the colony which was yet another 2 hours away you had to leave 2 hours before low tide and return within an hour the other end. Today's slot was 7am oh well maybe tomorrow at 6:30am. The day was glorious and we hea...

So far on all of our adventures we have never missed out (we have even had more than we bargained for) however today we did! A rather slow start to the day meant that we missed the opening of the dam, (damn!) although on the bright side we got to see the fantastic views of Mount Tongariro on the Circular journey. When completed, we head to "The Craters of The Moon" geothermal walk site. We paid our entrance fee and were suddenly transported into some apocalyptic ...

Today we wake up to the wonderful view of Lake Taupo with the mighty Mount Tongariro a large volcano as the backdrop. Making the most of the free wifi and it being a special nieces birthday (well here anyway!) we have some FaceTime! From here we head to the local i site (tourist information) and formulate today's Adventure. We decide to check in to the local Top 10 site because it has the biggest jumping pillow in N Z ( see pics) why we don't have these back home...

Day 8 Another early start as we wish to be at the wonderland in time to see the Lady Knox Geyser blow her stack, this occurs at 10:15 am everyday. It's a miserable day so black bags over our clothes and jacket, tickets and poncho (for Louise) are purchased and we head off and await the spectacle. We take our spot in the viewing area and the tour guide approaches the vent, gasps ring around but then the conundrum of the timing is revealed. The guide once again p...

Day 7 Like we said this area is all about the Maori so we head to Te Puia a geothermal area that includes the largest geysers in NZ and a Maori village. Several hours later having been visually and mentally stimulated (see pics) we decided to treat ourselves to the mineral baths at the world famous Polynesian Spa. So far we are finding all the attractions value for money and reasonable priced with brilliant free tour guides. We indulge in drinking smoothies look...