Pio Pio to Rotorua via Tirau

Rare brekky at the motel this morning and then off to Tirau to see some animal shaped buildings made of steel sheet. Not something you see every day. Tried to get a croissant but even though there are about 10 cafes here no croissants to be found. Bums!
Then off to Rotorua to see one of the geothermal sites. Google Maps had a jolly time leading us around farm tracks etc when we just needed to go up a major highway. Yay technology.
Finally got to Waimangu Valley which was super interesting because until 1886 it was a quite, bush covered valley. Nothing to see here kind of place. Then in June of that year the earth rolled over and had a scratch resulting in 16 craters opening up between the top of the valley and a dormant volcano some 20km away. Most of these have been filled in with a large lake but there is still a chain of hot lakes, boiling water vents etc at the top end. Fascinating, never seen anything like it before. This is not the only geothermal site around Rotorua but maybe the only one we have time for this trip.Read more