Kia ora from Rotorua.

This morning we drove to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. It's probably one of the coolest places on Earth, and it feels like you could be on a different planet entirely. Wai-O-Tapu has the largest area of surface thermal activity in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, covering 18 sq.km. As we approached in Zosma, to could see steam coming up in random places and the stench became stronger.

We walked around the reserve to see it's collapsed craters, cold and boiling pools of mud, and boiling, coloured springs. The steam, smell and scenery transports you to another planet. The sounds are also pretty unique with gurgling and bubbling sounds coming from deep underground. For the big finale, we went to see the Lady Knox Geyser. She erupted to a height of 20 metres - a spectacular sight.

At noon we joined a walking tour of Whakarewarewa (pronounced far-car-rear-wa-rear-wa), the only living Maori village. During working hours of the day when the locals are out working, they open the village to the public for an insight into Maori life. Whakarewarewa is extra special as it is built upon thermal land.

Our local guide showed us how the Maori people cook their food; everything is cooked using the geothermal waters. There are boxes that capture steam coming from the earth in which they cook meat. It takes 1 hour to cook a whole chicken from frozen. There are pools of boiling water of over 100 degrees c, all used for different things. One pool is used for cooking vegetables. They simply lower the vegetables down in plastic bags for the requisite time; it takes 8-10 minutes to cook corn on the cob.

For lunch we had a Maori hangi pie, all cooked by geothermal means, and corn on the cob. You can slightly taste the sulphur that you can smell in the air but the food is delicious.

We also saw the Maori Village house where they hold gatherings and learnt about the design of the house which is built based on ancestors. The guide also taught us about the religion of the Maori people (half are Catholic and half are Anglican) but how they do not let it affect their culture. The most important thing to them are the people in their lives and their ancestors.

At 2pm we watched the Maori cultural performance. It was a great display of Maori instruments, dancing and singing. We learnt that the shaky hand movements they use represents life. The Haka was pretty terrifying! Throughout the performance, both the men and women open their eyes wide and the men stick out their tongue.

Time to head to Taupo.

Steph and Max x