Volcanic Springs and Other Things!

After the Bay of Islands we had a big drive South to the volcanically active center of the North island. The first stop was a place called Rotorua and our first activity was to cruise to the top of Mount Ngongotaha via gondola (cable car-type thing) for a great view before speeding down the side of the mountain by luge (toboggan-type thing)! As we approached the town we could see a huge plume of steam coming from behind some bushes, which turned out to be a park with lots of huge volcanic springs and mud pools bubbling away! That evening we went to a really cool indoor climbing wall which I scaled for a couple of hours before losing all feeling in my arms!

The next day we went to Te Puia, a big park with more volcanic pools that included a big geyser (also called Te Puia) which blew a column of boiling water about 20m into the air a couple of times every hour! The park also had a lot on maori history and tradition, and included a performance by the maori people with the haka among some of the dances! That afternoon we went to one of the only places you could bathe in a natural volcanically heated stream for a relaxing soak and headed to our next destination, Taupo, feeling very refreshed!






Looking back on the way up the mountain from inside our gondola



The next racing world champion!



Thats supposed to be me standing by a volcanic pool...but at the crucial moment the wind covered me in steam that was coming off the water!



Some sticky bubbling hot mud



The biggest volcanic pool, the water can be as hot as 80 degrees!



Reaching the top of a challenging climb



We camped the night by a lake that had lots of little hot pools around it, just what you need to warm your feet up in the morning!!



A big muddy bubbling pool at Te Puia!



Te Puia Geyser blowing its top!



Maori warriors and dancing women from the show