After spending a lovely morning and early afternoon at Mount Maunganui it was on to Rotorua and to the sulphurous stench of rotting eggs. We had really been looking forward to this part of our trip having read all the blurb about active volcanic areas, mineral spas, mud baths and not forgetting the sheep show! You really didn't need the sign to tell you that you were in Rotorua because your nose soon lets you know where you are! It is unbelievable but the whole town really smells like rotting eggs with some parts being much much worse than others! We arrived at the campsite in time to take the short walk through a geothermal site to lake rotorua. We had been told that this was another hot water beach however when we got there the lake itself was lovely but the beach was covered in black reeds and we couldn't find any hot spots? After taking some photos of the lake and meeting our first ever black swans it was time to get plugged in and go to the onsite hot mineral spas for a relaxing soak. One of the advantages of traveling in New Zealand off season is that very few people are crazy enough to walk about the cold campsite in their swimming things to get to the pools so we had the entire springs to ourselves! After our soak we had some dinner and a good read at all our guides to try to narrow down what we wanted to do when we were here.

Day one and the first stop was the tourist information office to book some of the excursions that we had chosen the previous night. The first thing we booked was an evening visit to a traditional Maori village called Tamaki. We also booked a skyline package which included a gondola ride, skyswing (all will be revealed later) and 2 rides on the luge. After booking the trips we decided to spend the first afternoon taking in one of the geothermal parks called Waimangu Volcanic Valley. This site is well known because it is the only geothermal site in New Zealand whose creation is actually dated and recorded in written history. The site evolved from the 1886 eruption of Mt Tarawera causing massive destrucion to the surrounding area leaving behind a moon like craterous landscape full of steaming fumaroles, boiling pools and massive volcanic craters with their unusual colored waters. The sun was shining and it made for a really lovely walk around the park filled with lots of ohhhs, ahhhs and that's unreal! There were pools where the water was heated to boiling point by the underlying magma and was bubbling away of its own accord. The smell also needs a mention, the steam which was coming from cracks and holes in the stone as you walked round was absolutely stinking. There was just nowhere to go to get away from the eggy pong. We took a hike to a lake called inferno crater lake which was colored the most amazing shade of blue from all the minerals in the water and around the lake were loads of steaming fumeroles (holes in the rocks). According to the guide book the temperature varies from 75 to 105 degrees centigrade. To be honest you really need to see it and smell it to believe what is around you. It is pretty overwhelming to be in such an active part of the world and to get a tiny glimpse of what the world may have looked like thousands of years ago. We spent about 2 hours walking around taking photos of the amazing colours and landscapes. At the end of the walk you then catch a bus back the 3km you just walked back to the base. Unfortunately we kind of mistimed our tour and about 20 minutes from the end of the walk we realized that the bus was in 10 minutes and if we missed it then it would have been over an hour to the next one! We were lucky that the last section of the walk was nature trail so we decided to run the last stretch so as to not miss the one and only bus! Having 4 months with no exercise really took their toll on that one! After the exertions of our run we took a much needed trip to the Polynesian spa in the town centre. For a nominal fee you are free to use any of 7 outdoor hot mineral baths all with temperatures varying from 36 to 44 degrees centigrade. What a treat it was to lie and relax in the naturally heated pools overlooking lake rotorua. When you lifted your body above the water it didn't take long for the cold to bite but there wasn't far to walk to the next toasty dip. When we were both shriveled prunes and all mineraled out we returned to the campsite for dinner and a couple of drinks.The next morning and what a morning it was! We had intended to go on the gondola ride we had booked the first day however the weather had other ideas. There was so much rain it would even have given Scotland a run for its money. Little did we know at this point that it was to rain ALL day not even stopping once to refill! So we abandoned the gondola idea in favour of a dryer trip to a kiwi encounter at rainbow springs the wildlife park. The kiwi is something of a celebrity in New Zealand, it is one of their national emblems and is found only in New Zealand. It is a flightless nocturnal bird which a couple of hundred years ago could be found all over the country. Due to man hunting them and then introducing new predators in the form of possoms and stoats their numbers are halving every 10 years and could be extinct as soon as 2015. The kiwi encounter is a sponsorship funded program which aims to incubate kiwi eggs, hatch and rear the chicks before re-introducing them to their natural habitat at 6 months old. By doing this they increase the chance of survival from 5% to an amazing 70% . The encounter takes you on a guided tour from the incubators to the nursery and then to the indoor enclosure where the kiwi learn to feed before being released. The guide gives you lots of information about the kiwi and also about the programme and how it has evolved over the many years it has been running. As well as being really interesting and informative it was a chance for us to see the kiwi which we would otherwise never encounter in the wilds of New Zealand. After the Kiwi encounter it was off to the Agrodome to see another one of New Zealands iconic animals (this one more familier and less endangered). The sheep show at the agrodome was listed in many guide books as a must see and when it mentioned that it was an all weather activity we needed no further persuasion. We arrived at the show really early and intended to get our tickets and then have some lunch in the van before the show. After we got the tickets the girl directed us into the nursery area to meet some of the lambs that would be in the show. They were so unbelievably cute and I don't ever remember ever seeing tiny lambs so close before. They were really friendly and wrestling with each other for your attention which we obviously loved giving them! Our rainy day was made when one of the carers asked us if we wanted to help with the feeding of the lambs as it was their lunchtime too. We didn't need to be asked twice and soon we had two bottles each with the accompanying two lambs sucking for their lives. We are maybe a bit old to be feeding lambs but I don't care it was so much fun and they were so sweet. (don't think I will ever eat lamb again)! After a quick bite to eat in the van we then went in to get good seats for the show. The show basically showcases a series of prize winning rams and is then followed by a live shearing demonstration, more lamb feeding, cow milking and then a demonstration of the different types of sheep dog and their skills. It maybe doesn't sound like fun to everyone but it was actually a good laugh and I hate to say it but we did learn something too! Having done so much already it was hard to believe that the fun for today wasn't over as that night we had our trip to Tamaki the Maori Village!

We had been advised to visit the Tamaki Maori Village from various different people on our travels so we had booked up for the Monday night trip. It was still raining and hadn't stopped raining all day however the trip was still going ahead regardless and at 6.30pm we were collected at the campsite along with a few other guests booked for the same thing. You are first taken to the main office in the town centre where you are allocated to a particular bus (there are 4 buses) and you are also given a ticket with your table number for your meal. Once all the paperwork is done you are off on another bus to the village. When on the bus the coach driver who is one of your many hosts for the evening starts with a little storytelling and gives you a brief about the etiquette when in the Maori Village. Our bus is transformed into a canoe and all the passengers are a tribe who are going to visit the Tamaki tribe on their land, in their village. As a tribe we have to appoint ourselves with a tribe chief who will represent us and be directly involved in a Haka with the host tribe! The driver starts by asking for a volunteer who is brave, strong and good looking so I can think of nobody better for the job and nominate Michael as the chief of our tribe! As everyone else looks on petrified we jump at the chance to be part the evenings proceedings so with no objections on board Michael is our new chief! The first and most intimidating part of the chiefs job is to face down the opposing tribes chief and warriors as they attempt to intimidate the visitors with their tattooed faces, wide staring eyes and with their big tongues sticking out. There is a lot of shouting, dancing, pointing of spears and threatening actions right into the face of our chief! Whilst some of it was maybe part of the show the idea was to give us a taste of how life was like for the different tribes many years ago fighting over the two most important processions, land and women! From where we were standing it looked pretty scary and intimidating for the visiting chief. Michael likened it to it is what it might feel like to come face to face with the All Blacks when they are doing a Haka only the warriors are much closer to you and at points they almost touch your nose! After standing straight faced throughout the ceremony the visiting chief is then given the OK and invited to collect a gift from the gods and then he and his people (i.e. me and the other folks from the bus) are free to enter the village! Once in the village we had a brief walk around taking in some of the traditional Maori dwellings however due to the heavy rain we were moved quickly on to the entertainment part of the evening. For the next hour we were entertained by both the men and women from the village with various songs and dances. Before each one we were give a brief introduction about the song/dance and some background about when it would normally be performed. It was really interesting and entertaining to watch and after the singing and dancing we were given demonstrations of the games the Maori children would play and also the weapons used in the frequent conflicts that would arise between opposing tribes. After the show it was time for dinner and this was in the form of a traditional Maori Hangi. The hangi is a type of earth oven that is still used today to cook many foods including meats, potatoes, vegetables and steam puddings. The Maori men will dig a hole in the ground then fill it with wood and stones, when ready they will light it and allow the stones to turn white with heat. Once the stones are hot the meat/vegetables are placed onto the heat then covered with earth and leaves where it is left to slow cook over a number of hours. The end result being the most tender, perfectly cooked meal you have ever tasted. It was served in a buffet style where you could try chicken, lamb and fish all cooked in this traditional fashion. There were different kinds of potatoes and vegetables as well as steam pudding for dessert. The whole meal was awesome there was loads of food, it was all perfectly cooked and served the way it should be letting the amazing flavors speak for themselves without any overpowering sauces or flavours. After the meal there was a speech, presentation for all the chiefs of the evening and then we were all treated to a proper Haka complete with a rather entertaining rendition from chief Michael who was forced to stay up after the presentation for the performance! The whole evening was a complete success with us both thoroughly enjoying ourselves and getting a good feed into the bargain! We ended the evening in a merry sing song with our bus driver on the way back to the holiday park!

The next day and its Happy Birthday to Michael! Unfortunately its still raining but we don't let it dampen our spirits and decide to spend the morning at one of the many geothermal parks. The park was called Wai-O-Tapu and it was the only park which had a morning deadline that couldn't be missed. At 10.15am every day 365 days a year there is an eruption of the lady knox geyser where a small spout in the ground erupts with acidic, sulphurous water for about an hour. As usual we were running late and were pretty sure that the geyser wouldn't wait for us so we reached speeds on the motorway that I am know these campervans are never meant to do! We got there tickets in hand with about 3 minutes to spare. The geyser was brilliant, as you will see from the photos there is nothing around the area before the eruption, just a spout of rock in the ground. Then as if by magic the water starts to froth at the mouth of the geyser before fully erupting metres into the air. After watching the geyser erupt it was time take a tour of the rest of the "geothermal wonderland" as they called it! To give the park its dues it was to be the best park we saw during our stay in rotorua. Around every corner there was another amazing natural phenomenon from steaming flatlands and lakes to bright green crator lakes. The ground all around was stained with all the various mineral which leach up from the centre of the earth. You see bright greens, yellows, oranges and browns everywhere you look. We got absolutely soaked going around the park as you are walking for about 2 hours and we tried to keep under the umbrella but when your stopping every two minutes to take photographs its impossible to stay dry. To be honest we really didn't care that we were soaked because the sights and smells at the park were like something from another planet. At times you could really imagine that this would be what mars would look like and your just waiting for the little green men to arrive around the corner. We were also soon to learn one of the many other advantages of having a campervan. When all your clothes get soaked in the rain, you don't have far to go to get dried up and a fresh set of clothes then your ready to go again! As it was Michaels birthday we gave up our usual lunch of soup and bread in the campervan for a lovely pizza instead. After lunch and we couldn't believe that it had stopped raining and whilst the rain didn't look far away it didn't matter as there was some blue sky on the horizon. We decided to cease this opportunity to take our gondola ride and have a white knuckle afternoon on the Skyswing and The Luge. The view from the top of the gondolas was amazing and it was such a lovely thing to do on Michaels birthday. The sky swing is a bit like a bungy jump only you are strapped into a chair/swing and then hoisted up in the air attached to a giant elastic band. Once at the top you pull the cord and the band pings you in your chair through the air at 150kph! You then swing back and forward for a good couple of minutes before finally coming to a stop and being hoisted back to the ground! Needless to say I let Michael talk me into this before I saw what it entailed! Michal described it as a giant swing, nothing to worry about. On seeing the swing in action I had to disagree, it looked really scary and the speed it propels you out at was frightening. We had our tickets already bought so there was no going back now. When it was our turn we were strapped into our seats and Michael nominated me to pull the release cord at the top. So higher and higher we climbed and whilst on the ground it didn't look too high from up in the harness it really felt like a different story. When we got to the top I froze and couldn't let go of the handles long enough to pull the release to it was Michael to the rescue and off we went. I screamed from the start right to the end when the ball stopped swinging! It was really scary in the beginning but once the initial shock is over it becomes really good fun and we both really enjoyed it. I also entertained everyone on the ground with my over the top screaming and for the rest of the afternoon was know as "the screaming lady" to anyone who recognized me from my cameo at the top of the skyswing! There was no time to catch our breaths as it was straight onto the luge while it was still dry. To anyone who doesn't know what the luge is I will give a quick description. The luge is a small plastic tray with handlebars and brakes similar to those found on a bicycle. You then sit in the tray and race it downhill on a concrete track of which there are three difficulties to choose from. I had my reservation about this from the start however it was part of the package we bought so I thought I would give it a go and boy am I glad I did! The luge is one of the funniest, insane activities you can imagine, the speeds you can get up to are crazy and apart from the helmet there is no safety gear or crash barriers. I know I was probably driving like a complete granny but it was fast enough for me and when Mike zoomed down it and was waiting for ages at the bottom for me to finish I didn't care. I had a ball and would recommend everyone to have a shot when I bring the idea back to Scotland and open up my own luge centre! After our 2 circuits on the luge we took the gondola back to the bottom to get ready to hit the town for Michaels birthday night out.

We had a couple of glasses of wine in the campervan while getting ready and then decided to walk from the campsite to the town centre as it was only about a twenty minute walk. We got wrapped up as it was still pretty wet and miserable and headed to town. We were not really sure where we were going to go for dinner as it really all depended on where was busy and looked like it might have a good atmosphere. We walked around for a while and spotted a couple of possibilities. We then spotted an Indian restaurant that had a sign outside saying "best butter chicken as voted by the lonely planet". We need look no farther for our dinner, there were a few people in the restaurant and we were desperate to see if the butter chicken was any good. It certainly didn't disappoint and there were no scraps left on the plates sent back to the kitchen. After having dinner and some more wine we went in search of any bar that had a bit of life about it on a Tuesday night. Whilst many places were very quiet we eventually found an irish bar that was having an open mic night so there was plenty of live music playing to keep us entertained. We had a few more drinks, chatted to a few of the locals before it was definitely time for us to be heading home! When we left the pub a little worse for wear the whole place was like a ghost town there were no people and no cars anywhere it was very strange and a little spooky. We assumed from the lack of any life around at all that we would have to walk home which I wasn't really looking forward to however suddenly from nowhere appeared a taxi appeared and had to endure our drunken chat the whole way back to the campsite!

Unfortunately the morning after the night before begins with a groan and a quick inventory to ensure that we arrived home with the wallet, camera and the umbrella, all of which I am pleased to report made it home safely. We were both feeling pretty hungover, tired and not really much in the mood for anything however we are only here once and there were places to go and weird s*** to see! We were visiting the buried village today which is the site of a village that was buried with ash and mud following the 1886 eruption of mount tarawera. It is of particular interest because there is a lot known about the people who lived in the village before the eruption. From 1930 onwards the site underwent massive excavation to uncover the remains of the village and some belongings of the people who lived there. As a result it makes for a very interesting and informative museum containing factual information, witness testimonies, artifacts, and some of the excavated foundations of the buildings. Whilst the museum didn't quite deliver on the mummies and other creepy discoveries we were hoping for, it was the first time Michael was able to read the plaques on the exhibits quicker than me because I was so hungover so that a novel change!! After the tour of the village we were both totally exhausted and yet again another storm had set in making any outdoor activities too much of a chore in our fragile condition. So for the first time since we left home almost 5 months ago we took our campervan back to the campsite, put on the heating and went for an afternoon nap! The afternoon nap led onto a very lazy evening spent chilling out watching a DVD in the van and eating junk food! What a difference a day makes, after sleeping for a grand total of 12 hours the previous day we both felt brand new and raring to take on the next geothermal marvel. This was to be our last eggy expedition as it was our last day in Rotorua. We were spending the morning at Hells Gate before heading further south to Taupo. Yet again the weather was not our friend and for most of our tour around hells gate it was raining however we didn't let it spoil our fun and took plenty of pictures on the way round. Hells Gate was a bit different to the other parks we had visited in that it didn't really have the same unusual colours or formations seen at the previous parks. What it lacked in character however it made up for with violently bubbling mud pools and inhospitable terrain The whole park was very black and grey, with boiling mud and crater lakes around every corner. With this park you felt very unwanted and unwelcome as you walked around. With this one you kind of imagine that this is what the end of the world would look like if there was a huge nuclear disaster and you were the only people left, it really is the strangest feeling to know what that will look like! After walking around the park we were invited to try out some Maori carving on small pieces of redwood. Michael took them up on their offer and did a really good job of carving out the famous New Zealand Fern which we were able to gloss and take away with us. One of the other things we were desperate to try before leaving Rotorua was a mud bath and at Hells Gate they have a spa that you can go to and have a mud bath and then a soak in the hot mineral spa. With a brief break in the rain we quickly changed into our swimming things and were given our own little mud pool to thrash about in for about 20 minutes. The mud in rotorua is famous for its healing qualities and used to be used to treat many ailments with people coming from far and wide to test their healing qualities. The best thing about the mud however is how silky smooth and soft it is on your skin, when you rub it on it is literally like silk, all be it very smelly silk. You have about 20 minutes to sit playing in the mud before you have a freezing cold shower to wash it all off and then jump straight into the mineral spa. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon, very relaxing and so much fun to be allowed to play in the mud at 27 yrs old! After our morning and early afternoon in Rotorua it was back on the road again our destination being Taupo, home of the Taupo Bungy…..Will She or Won't She? Place your bets now!!