Rotorua

We were camping on the lake so decided to start the morning with a stroll around the lake (well part of the lake as it's massive) to Sulfur Bay. The first thing that hits you as you walk around the lake is the eggy smell. It's also strange to see steam rising from the bushes and tiny mud pools bubbling. You wouldn't think it would be safe to live around these thermal areas let along walk past them. There are lots of signs everywhere warning you by to stroll from the path as some of the water is over 100 degrees! We won't be doing a swimming here!

We had planned to visit the Rotorua museum in the afternoon as it was supposed to rain however we walked past it on our walk to find it was closed which is a shame. The museum is in a gorgeous building which unfortunately falls well below earthquake safety standards so is closed for the foreseeable future. With a quick snap of the outside we walked back to the van through the Government Gardens with a quick pit stop to play in the park on the giant seesaw!

In the afternoon we headed to the Redwoods Forest for a walk. We opted for a 2 hour trail which included a spot where you could see the Te Puia geyser. The geyser goes off approximately 20 times a day so we had to be patient. We were lucky though and can't have been waiting more than 15 minutes before the geyser erupted.

Our walk continued through the forest but came to an abrupt stop when we reached a bridge which was fully submerged in water. We then had to turn around and ad lib our way back to the visitor centre. It was a nice walk though and the rain held of which was good.Meer informatie