Drove straight to the campsite which was a little way out of town but had its own hot pools. Chilled out all afternoon and then treated ourselves to a nice meal. Phil says I have to make a big deal out of the fact that he had venison and it was amazing. I had a gourmet pizza which was also amazing!
Day 2 We went to Wai o Tapu, a thermal area where we saw a geyser go off, bubbling mud pools and my fave the champagne pool which has a bright orange edge and turquoise water and seems to fizz. I remember going here with my parents a few times before. In the evening we went to Tamaki maori village where they welcome you traditionally, show you how maori people used to live, perform song and dance and then give you a hangi which was delicious and a promise of things to come this Christmas!
Day 3 We drove out the other side of town to visit the Agrodome, somewhere else I remember going with the fam. We had a tractor tour of the farm and animals, Phil fed an ostrich and an al paca, then watched a show about all the different kinds of sheep and the dogs who herd them. After that we went to rainbow springs where we saw some kiwi and other native birds and fed the trout who live in the streams around the park. They all go a bit mental when you throw the food in which was fun!
Day 4 We went to Hell's Gate which was a smaller version of Wai o Tapu but afterwards we had a bath in the mud followed by a sulphir spa and then a maori massage. After that we went to Whakarewarewa, a real living maori village where the people's homes keep collapsing because of the thermal ground they are living on! We'd missed the performance though so went back in the morning for that before driving to Taupo.