On leaving Taupo this morning we made our way to Rotorua which is famed for the geothermal activity throughout the area. One of the many tips we had picked up on the way was to stop at a natural hot mineral spring at Waiotapu. We parked up on the road side and made our way to the pool which was overhung with trees and ferns, there are rickety steps down into a green pool which is very hot. Once in the water we found that by moving into the path of the cold feeder stream we could find a comfortable temperature. We spent nearly an hour in the pool and just didn't want to get out - it was just an undiscovered gem with only a very few locals there, unspoilt and completely free.

Back on the road we went onto Waiotapu Geothermal Springs. There are three stages of walk through the springs, all interlinking but each slightly more challenging than the last. It was a hot day (30 degrees) and added to this the springs are 300 degrees in places and give off sulphurous gases so the going was tough but we completed all three walks and were amazed at the colours of the pools and lakes which ranged from bright orange to pea green. At stages bubbling mud shot up to three foot in the air and all around us steam was rising from geysers, it was a really strange feeling to be walking alongside areas where the earths' crust is so thin.

After a quick stop in Rotaura to take a gondola to the top of the mountain and take in the views it was off to Tauranga.