Mount Maunganui

Woke up this morning to more rain. We were intending to visit Te Puia to see more geothermal action with geysers and a cultural show, but the rain has turned us off so we decided to just go and explore the city centre – Lake Rotarua and a free thermal park in the middle of the town called Kuirau which is a free park filled with crater lakes, pools of boiling mud and a thermal foot spa???. The rain was so heavy here, a huge tree split into two and unfortunately killed a lady in her car parked under the tree! Many parts of the north island are flooding and the rain is still teaming. The kids have constantly complained about the smell, so we decided again to push on and headed for some fresh sea air. Drove north east to Mount Maunganui, an absolutely beautiful spot, with a lovely Main beach, where we swam and enjoyed rinsing our stinky swimmers from the thermal springs in the ocean and breathing in the fresh air! In the afternoon, we decided to brave the steep climb up to Mount Maunganui and it was worth it! The views over the Bay of Plenty were spectacular! The legs are really feeling all this walking though now! Headed to a freedom camping spot along the waterfront again in Taurangi with a huge playground so the kids were entertained while I cooked dinner and we enjoyed the views in a free camping spot!!! Unbelievable!Read more