We opted for the coach again to get us from Paihia down to Rotorua which took nine hours going via Auckland. The first part of the journey was fine but it was an uncomfortable journey down here - we don't think our 'driver' Barrie had actually driven a bus before! Our accomodation was only a five mins walk from the bus station so we where there and checked in really quickly. If you ever go to Rotorua don't believe anyone when they say the smell isn't too bad and you get used to it in a couple of hours - it's really bad - with varying levels of eggyness (not sure if that is a word!).

We spent our first evening using up the free beer vouchers from the hostel (one of the advantages!) and had a walk around before going back to the hostel to try and escape the smell - no such luck!

We had quite an easy day on our first day, we walked down to the lake and went round the Government Gardens (oh so English - Croquet and everything!). We had a nice lunch with a rather large glass of wine and spent the pm doing 'normal' things like washing! We also picked up our car from rent-a-dent! It was a real bargain but you get what you pay for!

We headed out on Sunday to the Blue Lake and did a 5km walk around it which was really nice. It was so quiet ..... it wasn't until later in the day we realised that the clocks had gone back so we had gained an hour (or could have had another hour in bed!!!). We then went down to the buried village near by which was a bit touristy but the best part was the walk down to the waterfalls where we had our picnic - very civilised! The afternoon was spent at the Te Puia Thermal reserve. It's so weird being in an area with all this thermal activity - it looks like a set at Universal studios - you almost except to see dinosaurs walking around. We used our extra hour wisely and went to the pub when we got back and then had dinner in.

We left Rotoura earlyish the next day and set of for Taupo but we stopped at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal reserve on the way down which was really great. The picture we've choosen for this blog is the same one that's on the front of the Rough Guide for New Zealand!

Next stop Taupo!